


Notes

by ChildOfSolace



Category: notes - Fandom
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 1965-01-19
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2020-06-29 12:08:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 253,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19829914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfSolace/pseuds/ChildOfSolace





	1. Chapter 1

## 

_“ The happiest man on Earth would look into the Mirror  
and see only himself, exactly as he is.“_

* * *

##  [mirror](https://charamchadoo.tumblr.com/post/148980554097/mirror)

_Inspired by that headcanon I suddenly had while doing the dishes and listening to ‘Mirrors’ by Justin Timberlake. Basically Scorbus goes exploring and finds the Mirror of Erised._

* * *

They stumbled upon it one night, in one of the few times they’ve sneaked out of bed.

Since they practically changed history and traveled through space and time, Albus and his best and only friend Scorpius the Dreadless have been more than daring in their attempts of mischief and mayhem. Honestly, Albus felt more like his family than he ever had, and Scorpius’ dreams were basically coming true.

It was in an abandoned classroom, in a locked corridor with a rusty doorknob. A simple ‘Alohomora’ was enough to let them through, and Scorpius followed Albus cautiously, his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. At sixteen, they were already becoming too big for the Invisibility Cloak, their feet scuffling slightly on the dusty flooring.

Harry Potter had told his children about the Mirror of Erised a long time ago. To Albus, it was almost like a children’s bedtime story; to Scorpius it was a valuable piece of history.

“Do you think we’ll learn more about ourselves?” Scorpius whispered in awe. Albus shrugged. “Dunno. I hope so.” He frowned slightly. “You’d think by now we’d know ourselves better. _I_ still don’t know what I want.” Scorpius nudged him gently. “Let’s go ahead then, shall we?”

They walked towards the towering mirror, side by side, slowly. 

Albus thought about everything he had yet to discover about himself - how much he and his father actually had in common, why he hadn’t had a girlfriend yet, how he received a handful of O.W.L.s but didn’t know what to do with his life, how he would feel if one day he actually lost his best friend. 

Scorpius thought about everything he thought he wanted - his mother back with him, his father’s approval, Rose Granger-Weasley, being locked in a room full of books and being a history scholar forever, and spending all his time with Albus.

Both boys - young men, now - stepped forward together, side by side, facing the mirror, both pairs of eyes closed. 

Hesitantly, Albus opened one eye, and then another. In disbelief, he nudged Scorpius, whose eyes were still closed, his hands clammy. “Scorp, open your eyes,” he whispered. Scorpius gulped and nodded. He opened his eyes.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Albus whispered, almost in awe.

Scorpius, though thoroughly discombobulated, nodded. “I think so?” he said.

Albus reached out a hand to touch the mirror, his head shaking in disbelief. 

_Nothing was different._ All Albus saw was their reflection - just him and Scorpius, side by side.

Scorpius chuckled. “It’s… it’s you and me.”

Albus nodded. “It’s the same?” He laughed. “Wow this… this was a risky trip for some mirror.” He frowned suddenly. “Unless perhaps… it doesn’t work anymore?”

Scorpius shook his head. “There’s no way. This kind of magic… it never fades.” 

Suddenly, their heads both snapped to the mirror. It was still the same - them, standing side by side - but now, their hands reached for each other, their fingers interlacing. 

Scorpius tore his eyes away from their reflection and glanced at his own hand, right next to Albus’. “Unless…” He gulped. “Your heart’s desire…”

Wordlessly, Albus took Scorpius’ hands in his own and laced his fingers in Scorpius’ - now thoroughly mirroring their reflection. Scorpius is stunned for a moment, but he doesn’t let go - he realized he doesn’t _want_ to. 

After what seemed like years, Albus finally cleared his throat. “Well… I did once say I didn’t need anyone else but you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lucien sat on the edge of his father’s bed, thermometer in hand. He stared at the temperature. If 98° was the norm, then Damien’s 103° was definitely a fever. It was 101° yesterday. No sign of improvement.

Damien has been sick for about three days now. Unable to go to work, unable to go to the graveyard, unable to volunteer at the animal shelter, unable to even move his head without complaining about cranial pain. There was a trashcan next to the bed about a quarter-full of vomit, which emitted a foul smell if you leaned too close, and a pile of discarded tissues on the other side of the bed. Smack dab in the middle? There was a very very sick Damien Bloodmarch. Red, runny nose, miserable expression, binderless, glasses, no makeup and tangled hair, he was the exact image of what pops into your head when you think ‘Sick vampire’. The man was absolutely drowning in blankets, specifically four of them, and there were a few cough-drop wrappers on his lap.

Lucien had stayed home from school for two days to take care of his dad. At first Damien had insisted on Lucien going to school, consistently saying he was fine, but the next day it just got worse to the point where his son was too worried to leave him alone. Lucien was just getting more worried by the hour, he had to call someone. He wanted to call someone in the first place, but he was determined to heal his dad. But.... he hadn’t seen Earnest in a while, and he had a project coming up. He needed to be at school. He needed someone to take over for him.

Lucien took his father’s hand. “I think i should call someone, Dad. I seriously don’t know what to do.” He said.

Damien squeezed his hand weakly. “I really wouldn’t want anyone to see me like this Lucien, I’ve told you..”

Lucien cut him off “What about that guy you’re always hanging out with? I’ll see if he’s free.” Lucien grabbed Damien’s cell.

Damien panicked and sat up, only to get a massive headache and lay back down onto his array of pillows, holding his forehead. He moaned in pain slightly. “Don’t.. i don’t want to bother him.. I don’t want him to see me like this... he’ll think I’m disgusting..”

Lucien smiled a little. “All sick people are disgusting. And if you’re gonna be married to him one day, get used to the fact that you can’t always look good around him. Is he even your official boyfriend yet or what?”

Damien’s eyes widened. “Me and Mr. Lee are NOT getting married.. I’m not sure if he’s even interested in engaging in courtship...”

Lucien opened Damien’s cell “Still gonna call him.” He said cheekily. Damien moaned.

Lucien snickered and gave his dad’s hand one last squeeze before getting up and leaving the room. He knew it would just stress Damien out if he were to hear the conversation. Lucien walked into his room and pressed call. The phone rung once.. twice...

Andy was making Mac and cheese. The good kind, you know, like the real stuff with the breadcrumbs that you put in the oven. Andy had just pulled it out and placed in on the rack to cool. He admired his work happily, taking off his oven mitts and apron. He felt a buzzing in his pant pocket. Someone was calling him. He didn’t know who it would be. It could be work- wait he doesn’t have a job yet. Amanda? Nah. She texts. Damien? Damien wasn’t really the type of guy to call. He was surprised to see Damien’s contact name on the screen as he checked who was calling. He immediately picked up “Hey Damien.”

“It’s Lucien. I know you’re close with my dad.”

Andy, knowing Lucien, sorta took his words as a threat “Yes, and...?”

Lucien’s tone changed completely from malicious to worried “He’s really REALLY sick. Can’t even get out of bed sick. Vomit sick. I think he’s got a stomach bug, or the flu, or both. I REALLY need to go to school for once. I have a final project due and exams are coming up.” He sighed. “I’ll get to the point. Can you look after him? Just from 9 to 3?”

Andy was getting more and more concerned by every word. “Done. I’ll come over now. Hurry to school.”

Lucien audibly sighed though the phone “Thanks. I’ll leave the door unlocked.” He said. ‘Thanks’ was a very rare word to hear out of Lucien’s mouth.

“No problem.” Andy hung up. He put on his jacket and began walking to Damien’s place.

Lucien slung his bag over his shoulder and bolted out the door to school, leaving it unlocked as promised.

Andy got there in no time. Jogging with Craig really paid off. Andy knocked, before realizing no one would answer, obviously. He walked inside the gothic home, taking off his jacket and hanging it up. “Damien?!” He called. There was silence.Andy went upstairs and entered Damien’s room slowly. His eyes widened at the sight of Damien, disheveled and sick and binderless. He’d never seen Damien so... un-put-together. Damien blew his nose loudly and looked at Andy. “Sorry... I told Lucien not to bother you.. I’m fine really..” his voice sounded a little hoarse. He had his arms crossed across his chest, self conscious about not wearing his binder in front of Andy. He pulled the blankets up to his shoulders.

Andy shook his head “Nah nah nah it’s okay, by the looks of it, you need me.” He chucked. He glanced at Damien’s chest, but didn’t ask any questions or make a point of mentioning it.

Damien smiled a little. “I REALLY wish you didn’t have to see me like this...” He sniffled, looking away.

Andy sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s fine, seriously. I rather be helping you than putzing around the house all day waiting for Amanda to get home. Can I get you anything?”

Damien looked at Andy with watery eyes. He looked over at the finished pack of cough drops. “Some more lozenges, please. They’re in the bathroom cupboard.” He sighed.

Andy nodded. He got up and strode into the bathroom, opening up the cupboard and grabbing a new pack. “How often do you get sick, Damien?” He asked curiously. “You have a lot of sick people stuff in here.”

“Rarely. Lucien must have picked up all those items during a store-run.” Damien said. He suddenly went into a bad coughing fit.

Andy rushed back into the room “Damien?!” He asked worriedly, his heart nearly beating out of his chest.

Damien’s cough’s died down “I’m fine- I’m fine..” he coughed a little bit more, but eventually subsided.

“Okay..” Andy said, sitting back on the edge of the bed and putting the pack of lozenges in Damien’s lap. “Are you hungry? When’s the last time you’ve ate?” He asked.

Damien popped a lozenge into his mouth. He sighed at the cooling effect it had on his sore, painful throat. “Yesterday morning. I'm not hungry though.” He said, his voice sounding a little better.

Andy’s eyes widened “Yesterday morning? Has Lucien been taking care of you AT ALL?”

“Yes, of course, he’s offered me food, but I declined. I’m simply not hungry.”

“That’s what being sick does to you, Dames.” Andy sighed

Damien smiled a little at the use of the nickname. “I’m not eating. I’m REALLY not hungry. I’ve lost my appetite. Could have something to do with the bucket of vomit beside me.” He joked darkly. Damien suddenly sneezed. He had an adorable sneeze. Tiny, yet explosive, and he squeaked a little when he did it.

Andy instinctively pushed the trashbin of vomit a little further away “Your body needs food to fight the bacteria. I’m making you soup.”

Damien tried to protest by getting up, but was hit with another massive headache. He laid back down. “Ugh...” by the time he had been up, Andy was already gone.

Andy grabbed a can of what looked to be a vegetarian version of chicken noodle soup. He heated it up on the stove, humming a Britney song.

“Oooops I did it againnnnnn I played with yo heaaaart got lost in the gaaayme oh babey babeyyy-“ Andy did his best impression of Britney Spears as he cooked.

Damien heard from upstairs and snickered a little.

Andy came back with the soup, carrying it in a tray. He placed it on Damien’s lap. “Eat up”

“I told you I’m not hungry-“ Damien said moodily before he cut himself off.

Andy was holding a spoon full of soup in front of Damien’s mouth.

“You don’t need to feed me like a toddler!” Damien said indignantly, furrowing his brows.

Andy didn’t move the spoon. He smiled a little. “You’ve proven you can’t and won’t eat it on your own, so I’m helping.”

Damien looked reluctant. “Is it vegetarian...?” He asked hesitantly, tilting his head.

Andy nodded. “Made sure it was.”

Damien was flattered Andy remembered. He parted his lips, opening his mouth a little.

Andy put the spoon in. Damien took in the soup and swallowed. He looked a little embarrassed, his face flushed a darker shade of red, darker than the natural-sick-person red that he was already sporting. Andy smiled a little. “Cute.”

Damien looked away. “Don’t say things like that- I’m anything but ‘cute’ in this state.”

Andy insisted “You’re REALLY cute. Something about your red nose and your tangled hair. Little kitten sneezes. No makeup. All bundled up and cozy. You’re cute.” He teased, offering another spoonful of soup.

Damien looked so SO SO flustered. He bit his lip. “Shaddap.” He hummed as he swallowed the soup.

Andy grinned “That wasn’t very Victorian of you to say.”

Damien scoffed “Ugh. Please do be a dear and sew thy dastardly mouth shut.” He said, but he was smiling just a little.

Andy snickered and helped Damien finish the rest of the soup.

Once they were done, Damien looked a lot more content. He sunk a bit further down into his nest of blankets and sighed in content, closing his eyes. He sneezed and reached over, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose before carelessly tossing the item to the side to join the growing pile of It’s brethren.

Andy watched him with a slight smile. He reached out and pet Damien’s hair.

Damien opened one eye. He smiled a little “What are you up to?” He said cheekily, leaning into the touch.

Andy’s smile grew “Nunyabiz.”

Damien rolled his eyes before closing them once more.

Andy leaned in closer. Damien looked so adorable, with his crooked glasses, and his teary eyes.... Andy got closer and closer until they were nose to nose. He stroked Damien’s cheek...

Damien retched and scrambled for the trash can, ignoring the blinding pain in his head as he grabbed the sides of the bin and gripped hard, doubling over and emptying out his stomach’s contents. The sound was as sickening as the smell.

Y/n scooted away a bit and gasped “Jeez-“ before coming to his senses and scooting much closer, gently gathering Damien’s hair and holding it back. He needed to realise; he wasn’t here to flirt, he was here to look after his sick boyfr- person that he cared deeply about. Andy rubbed his back.

The retching continued, subsided for a second, than continued. Damien finished vomiting and spat into the bin, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. He sputtered “I-I am so sorry-“

Andy let go of Damien’s hair and stroked it down so it lay flat. “Hey, I signed up for this. Just focus on getting better.”

Damien nodded. “Can you help me to the bathroom..?”

Andy nodded “Yeah of course-“ he got up and helped Damien out of bed, who winced every time he moved his head even slightly. Andy grabbed Damien’s hand “Here- lean on me.” He wrapped his free arm around Damien’s waist, holding him close to his body so they were glued hip-to-hip. Damien would have gotten flustered if he wasn’t in pain. He rested his head on the taller man’s shoulder, groaning a little. Andy urged him along, taking small steps. Eventually they got into the bathroom. Damien transferred himself to leaning on the sink instead of his caretaker.

“Thank you.” Damien said, a little breathless.

Andy smiled a little. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.” He hummed, closing the bathroom door and leaning on it.

Damien sighed and opened the cupboard, then popped an Advil. He swallowed it down dry, he couldn’t be bothered to get water for it. He sneezed that cute, high kitten sneeze again. “Ah..a-Ah.. aH-CHEW!” His eyes squeezing shut.

Andy smiled from behind the door. Cutie.

About a minute later, Damien finished his business before getting up and leaning on the wall. He opened the door and sniffled.

Andy smiled “All done?”

Damien nodded a little, then got a headache again. His hand flew to his forehead “Ugh.-“ he lost his balance and fell right into y/n’s arms, who caught him quickly. Their bodies pressed together. Y/n took this opportunity to lift Damien up like a toddler: one hand on his back, the other just underneath his bum, scooping him up and carrying him steadily over to the bed.

Damien was much to dizzy and tired to protest. He rested his head atop y/n’s.

Andy smiled a little. He slowly laid Damien down on the bed as to not upset his head even more. Damien groaned and closed his eyes, sinking into the bed.

Andy covered him back up in the four blankets.

Damien sighed “I’m cold..” he sniffled.

Andy smiled a little. Now was his chance “Hi cold, I’m dad.”

Damien smacked him playfully and smiled, opening his eyes a bit. Damien hugged himself, shivering, though his body temperature was BOILING. There was a bit of sweat on his forehead.

Andy stroked back Damien’s hair, and the goth’s eyes fell closed again slowly. He was very sleepy.

Andy sighed and got up to leave the room. He was halfway to the door when Damien spoke up.

“Can you stay?” He asked quietly.

Andy paused and turned on his heel back to face Damien. “Sure.” He sat back on the edge of the bed. Damien smiled a little “Thank you.” He hummed, rolling onto his side. He turned off the bedside lamp, the only thing keeping it from being pitch black being the afternoon light seeping through the curtains.

Damien shivered.

Andy hesitantly reached out and pet Damien’s hair, being as gentle as possible. Damien tilted his head back softly, moving into the touch. He’d gotten a lot more comfortable with y/n over the past few hours.

Andy decided to pull a bold move. He moved over the blankets a bit and got under them next to Damien. Damien’s heart began to race nervously, in a good way. He didn’t know what y/n was trying to do.

Andy knew exactly what he was gonna do. He had his heart set on it. He moved in close and wrapped his outer arm around Damien, spooning him tightly.

Damien leaned back a little. He yawned, though inside he was a jittery mess. Andy pressed his cheek to the back of Damian’s neck. Damien felt his cheeks become hot.

They stayed like that for a good two minutes, neither of them saying anything. Damien debated in his head whether he should do what he was about to do or not- he decided on doing it. Live dangerously, right?

Damien rolled over to face Y/n, keeping his eyes bashfully closed. Andy opened his arms and let the other snuggle close into his chest, his hair going everywhere. Damien wrapped his arms around the other’s waist, pressing their bodies together. Y/n rested his chin on top of Damien’s head and played with his hair a little. It was a little greasy of course, hadn’t been washed in a bit, not that he even minded. It was still very soft and silky.

Damien let out a small sigh of content and intertwined their legs before slowly and surely drifting to sleep, peacefully engulfed in y/n’s tight grasp and the sea of blankets.

Andy smiled. He might be in falling in love.

———

-Bonus-

Lucien came home from school as soon as he could to check on Damien. He made a beeline for his dad’s room and opened the door. His eyes widened at the sight, then smiled softly. In a ‘i love those two fuckers’ way and a mischevious way. He walked in, took out his phone and snapped a picture of the two, and posted it on Instagram with the cheeky caption ‘I think he’s gonna catch my dad’s sick- anna oop- @ThatGothPrince @(y/n’s acc)‘

In about 15 minutes, there were about 20 comments all along the of:

‘Awww look at ur dad all squished that’s fucking adorable’

‘SKSKSK JEEZ- 💯🥺🥺🥺👀 CUTE AF’

‘I wish someone would hold me like that :/‘

‘No homo tho rite???’

‘He’s definitely gonna catch the flu. #worthittho’

Amanda commented “So THIS is where my dad is- I’ve been looking all over for him. When he gets sick I’m blaming and or sueing you’

Earnest commented “Cursed image”

Damien would have a fun surprise when he opened his phone tomorrow morning.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm telling you now, Aaron, if you don't break off this... This abominable affair, I swear I'll cut you off from your inheritance."

Aaron scowled, "Seriously?" He scoffed. "You think I'd give Cody up for money? Cut me off, I don't give damn."

"Now hang on, Aaron!" Cody balked, stepping in front of him. "


	4. Matthew 6 King James Version (KJV)

# 

1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

** 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? **

** 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? **

** 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? **

** 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: **

** 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. **

** 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? **

** 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? **

** 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. **

** 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. **

** 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. **

───────────────────────────────────

**DO NOT WORRY**

##  [God’s immeasurable concern for us](https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/how-to-be-worry-free-a-bible-study-from-matthew-6/#ixzz5tpObiOxC)

Jesus continues by illustrating God’s intimate care for His creatures, _“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”_ (v. 26). Jesus calls our attention to some very important points here in regards to food:

  * Birds do not farm.
  * They do not plow the ground at the appropriate time of year.
  * They do not buy seed and plant it in the field that they just plowed.
  * Nevertheless, even though birds do not plan ahead, even though those birds do not worry or fret, God takes care of them and provides for their needs.




	5. Chapter 5

## A Cold Glass of Iced Green Tea

Akashi Masaomi was a hard man.

He was born in a family of elites, brought up with high expectations breathing down his neck, always being observed and criticized by his strict, overbearing alpha parents. He was cutthroat not only in the business world, but in every single aspect of his life.

The only person who saw even a bare glimpse of whatever soft, caring side that his parents didn't manage to pound out of him was his beautiful, caring, special bond mate.

The true love of his life...his Shiori.

When Shiori had left this world and passed on to the next, for the first time in his life, Masaomi was at a complete loss. The only things left that he had of Shiori was her loving memories and their beautiful son, Seijuurou.

The one thing that Masaomi loved just as much as Shiori, was Seijuurou. Not that his son knew of this- because Masaomi never told him or showed it to him.

Due to his own upbringing, Masaomi didn't really know how to care for another properly, let alone a child. He always wondered if Shiori truly knew how much he had and always would love her (though in his heart and with Shiori's last words, he knew that she understood him and loved him wholeheartedly). But because he didn't know how to act very caring or loving, he found himself becoming distant to his son.

And what's worst, he began to treat Seijuurou exactly like his father had treated him.

When he heard word of Seijuurou's first loss and had watched the final game that one of his employees had taped for him, Masaomi finally saw what his actions had done to his beloved son. He had broken the boy to the point of near insanity.

For the first time, Masaomi had failed at something. He had failed at being the type of father that Seijuurou needed. Masaomi's heart twisted at the thought of his deceased beloved, most likely frowning down from heaven, disappointed in him.

When he saw Seijuurou a few days after, he was surprised to see the change in his son- for the better. He was more calmer and the aura around him wasn't as predatory as it had been before. And Masaomi did take note of Seijuurou's eyes turning back to being completely red (just like his Shiori's had been).

Before Seijuurou could open his mouth to apologize for his loss, Masaomi managed to shock the boy by apologizing to his son first. From then on, the father and son finally had a 'heart to heart' and talked properly with each other, not as business associates but as a father with his only son.

When Masaomi saw his son genuinely smile at HIM, he had trouble keeping his tears at bay. For the first time, he felt as if he was finally becoming the type of person that Shiori had always saw him as.

Seijuurou became more open with his father and they even discussed non-work related things during their dinners together. Masaomi also found out about his son's previous dissociative personality disorder, and after talking it through with his son, it was agreed that the redhead would attend weekly therapy sessions to help with his mental problems.

Akashi Masaomi was still a hard man. But that was towards everyone else other than his son.

Everything was finally going well in the Akashi household....until HE came.

Masaomi was not blind to how his son acted around a certain mousy brunette. Masaomi first caught glimpses of the two hanging around at the mansion. When he questioned Seijuurou about the beta boy, his son had a certain sparkle in his eyes as he happily told his father about all the things that he and this 'Kouki' had done that day.

Masaomi didn't want to ruin his son's happiness so he kept quiet as he continued to observe the two from afar. His son or the beta would take turns each weekend to visit the other at their homes. Furihata Kouki became a regular topic at their table. Even though Seijuurou never said it, it was obvious to Masaomi that they were dating (his son always had the beta's strangely sweet smell on him these days but it didn't seem like they had any intercourse yet).

Finally, Masaomi came to his final conclusion about Furihata Kouki- he absolutely hated the brunette and completely disapproved of his 'relationship' with his son.

He had always imagined Seijuurou with a lovely lady from a very high-classed, wealthy and powerful family. His wife would be able to produce a decent heir to continue the Akashi lineage- not some shy, awkward beta boy who couldn't even speak straight without stuttering, let alone bear him grandchildren.

Not only could he not accept such a mismatched couple into the Akashi family, he also couldn't see what his son saw in a timid, non remarkable, no-name beta- completely opposite to his own superior alpha son.

He would have them break up immediately.

It was for Seijuurou's own good, after all.

One day when Kouki came over for one of his usual visits, the beta looked shocked when his boyfriend's father came up to him and for the first time actually spoke to him (the older man usually ignored his existence whenever the brunette had visited previously). Masaomi asked if he could speak to Kouki in private. Seijuurou looked confused (his father didn't tell him that he wanted to talk to Kouki so he had no idea want was going on) but Kouki assured the redhead that he would be fine and would love to properly introduce himself to his father.

In the privacy of his own office, Masaomi dropped his kind charade and made his displeasure known about the beta's relationship with his son. As Kouki sat in the chair across from him in shock, Masaomi proceeded to tell off the boy about how insignificant the brunette really was compared to his superior alpha son and how he'll pay the boy a high amount of money to break off their relationship immediately (Just because Masaomi was now much kinder to Seijuurou, he was still a cruel, cutthroat Akashi to anybody else- especially to the weak).

As he continued to berate the boy, he noticed the tears that had formed in the boy's eyes. Good, this will be over sooner than he thought.

When he kept insulting the boy, he noticed Kouki opening his mouth to finally say something, probably to tell him that he was sorry for ever thinking he was good enough to even breathe the same air as Seijuurou and then give the amount of money he wanted in exchange for breaking off his relationship- probably what the brunette had planned from the beginning, coercing money from his precious son.

But what came out of Furihata Kouki's mouth caught him completely by surprise.

"Who the FUCK do you think you are?" Furihata Kouki, the mousy, timid, shivering beta boy in front of him had both his fists clenched to his sides as he stood up, his body now trembling in only anger and he was looking, no GLARING at Masaomi as if HE were one of the scum of the Earth. It was like his whole demeanor had turned an entire 180.

For the next few minutes, Masaomi found himself being yelled at by Kouki, being told what a horrible father he was for abandoning his son when he was needed the most, by putting so much pressure and responsibility that it caused a mental breakdown in Seijuurou. How Masaomi had no right to judge Kouki because he knew that he loved his son more than his tyrant of a father did. He loved Seijuurou not because of his surname or his money or his alpha status or his good looks (though he did admit Seijuurou was the most handsomest man he had ever met). He loved Seijuurou for his kindness and protectiveness, his wittiness and strength, and even his incapability to tell a decent joke. For the love Seijuurou had shown to Kouki and for the dorky excitement he had shown whenever something shogi-related came up.

Furihata Kouki pointed his finger right in Masaomi's face as he said in a deadly voice, "I may not be extraordinarily handsome or a genius or a freaking millionaire from a highbred family. But what I, Furihata Kouki, am is a good brother, friend and a decent human being. I may be shy and timid and scare quite easily and pretty frequently, but when push comes to shove, I'll definitely defend myself and others when needed. I love Seijuurou for both his perfections and his imperfections and you can just take that money offer and shove it somewhere else. And because I am so in love with your son, I'm willing to fight you tooth and nail for the right to love him and stay by his side as his mate. Because I know in my heart that we are TRUE bond mates."

As Kouki continued his rant, Masaomi just sat there, in a slight daze as he couldn't quite believe what was happening. This small insignificant nobody that he completely wrote off as something to get rid of...had actually had the guts and backbone to stand up to him. HIM. Akashi Masaomi.

As Kouki finally looked as if he was done, he continued to just stand there with his hands still clenched and panting heavily as he continued glaring bullets at the man in front of him. Masaomi finally snapped out of his stupor as a single thought hit him.

'Ah. He reminds me so much of her. Of Shiori.'

A body with such an unassuming but kind presence...holding such a fiery and courageous and deeply faithful spirit within. It was just like his deceased mate. His Shiori.

Masaomi finally understood what Seijuurou saw in this boy. What made him fall in love with someone who was his complete opposite, but at the same time, actually had more in common than what was first perceived.

He knew that he was fighting a losing battle since Kouki's love for his son was exactly like Shiori's love had been for him. They were both willing to fight for that love. And in all honesty, Masaomi couldn't find it in himself to even want to separate them anymore.

Who was he to stand in the way of his son's true bond mate- a mate who truly loved his son more than anything in the world and would even stand up to his mate's 'tyrant' of a father?

After a silence of what seemed like hours, Masaomi finally straightened in his seat and focused his stern eyes into the beta's eyes, watching the boy flinch a little but still not refusing to cower away.

After a tense moment, Kouki literally stopped breathing when he saw the corners of Masaomi's mouth lift itself into what looked like a genuine smile as he spoke in a warm voice, "Very well. I give you, Furihata Kouki approval to date my Seijuurou. Please take care of my son from now on."

Masaomi watched as Kouki's eyes widened with shock. The beta suddenly became an alarming shade of white, probably from the lack of oxygen since the brunette STILL hadn't taken a breath yet and probably forgot that he needed to breathe at all.

For the second time that day, the brunette boy managed to shock him once again as Masaomi watched in horror as Kouki's eyes rolled up inside his head and his body slowly crumpled to the floor with a loud crash.

Masaomi immediately ran to the brunette's side, checking to see if the boy had managed to injure himself from the fall. A minute later, Seijuurou burst into the room, feeling that something was wrong with his boyfriend (these two weren't even bonded yet, so how were they so in sync?), and the redhead immediately growled when he saw his boyfriend's passed out form on the floor.

Knowing not to stand in the way of an aggressively protective alpha and his distressed mate, Masaomi immediately backed away from the brunette and let his son cradle his lover close to him, kissing the boy's face immediately as he tried to check for any wounds or bruises.

Masaomi called for his private doctor and told Seijuurou to bring Kouki into his room. When the doctor told him that he would be there soon, Masaomi made his way to his son's room and saw Seijuurou cuddling next to his unconscious lover, scent marking the brunette so much that Masaomi had to cough at the strong smell.

At his father's cough, Seijuurou looked up and demanded he tell him everything that had happened and why his boyfriend was unconscious on the floor.

Since he had been trying to have an open relationship with his son, Masaomi decided to tell his son the truth and explained everything that had happened between him and the beta.

Seijuurou growled in anger when Masaomi told him how badly he initially treated Kouki and how he tried to break off their relationship. Seijuurou then looked as shocked as Masaomi had been when he learned about how the timid brunette had actually stood up to his father and defended their relationship and love. Seijuurou couldn't help but grin proudly as he hugged his boyfriend closer to him.

Seijuurou listened to his father's apology about how wrong he was about Furihata Kouki and how he wrongly underestimated the young beta. He gave them his approval of their relationship and when he had told this to the brunette, it must have shocked the poor boy so much that he ended up fainting (or maybe it was the realization that Kouki had actually talked back to his boyfriend's scary father that finally hit the timid boy and all his bravado left him and caused him to pass out).

After the private doctor had shown up and assured the worried father and son that Kouki was okay and his body was only overwhelmed by all the stress that the brunette put it in.

When Kouki woken up a few minutes after the doctor had left, he looked around confused with his surroundings. When he looked at Masaomi, his eyes widened as he remembered what had happened. After Seijuurou managed to calm the hyperventilating brunette down, Masaomi cleared his throat, grabbing the couple's attention.

Looking into Kouki's completely frightened eyes, Masaomi gave the boy a hopefully reassuring smile as he repeated what he had said before- that he would give the pair his approval and that Kouki was welcomed into the Akashi family with open arms.

Kouki bursted into tears after that, crying in relief and exhaustion. Seijuurou merely held his boyfriend, giving his father another one of his genuine smiles.

Masaomi left the pair to themselves to rest as he went back to his office to finish up the rest of his work.

That night during dinner, Masaomi decided to get to know his future son-in-law better. He found out that the boy's parents had passed away when he was young and he lived together with his older brother who was four years older (they had no immediate family but they had managed to get taken in by a kind woman from the child services. When the woman sadly passed away due to illness, Kouki's brother by then was old enough to take guardianship over Kouki himself). Since his mother's family had been rich (they lived in Barcelona, making Kouki half Spanish) the brothers were able to budget the money that was left for them so they wouldn't need to take jobs and could focus more on their studies (Kouki's best subjects were Math and English but he was horrible in Science).

When one of the butlers brought them a green colored drink filled with what looked like mint leaves and lime slices, Masaomi asked what it was.

Kouki blushed as he admitted that he had made it earlier, hoping that they would like it. It was a mint and lime iced green tea. Whenever it was hot out and he was feeling stressed or a bit overwhelmed, the drink would help cool him off.

Masaomi took a sip of the drink and his eyes widened at the refreshing taste. "This is quite delicious, Kouki-kun." The older man complimented. After he learned that he and the brunette shared a same interest in trains and architecture, Masaomi had taken to calling Kouki by his given name and had already started on wedding plans (Kouki had choked out that they weren't even engaged while Seijuurou pointed out that they should at least graduate high school first before getting married).

As they continued to drink their iced teas, Masaomi sighed as he looked wistful. "You would make a wonderful mate to Seijuurou, Kouki-kun." Kouki blushed red as Masaomi continued. "I suppose surrogacy or adoption will have to do. The Akashi line does need a heir after all." Kouki choked on his drink when he heard that.

Seijuurou frowned at his father. "I want our child to be whatever they want to be- I don't want their life to be set in stone before they're even born."

"I'm sure you'll both have more than one child and then I have no doubt that one of my grandchildren would like to take over the company in the future." Masaomi pointed out.

Kouki was quiet as he listened to their talk before he hesitantly put his hand up to get their attention. "Ano..." Kouki started when both Akashi's were looking at him. "I have something I need to tell you both. Actually, I was planning on telling Sei about this around next week, but I guess I should say it now."

"Is something wrong, Kouki?" Seijuurou asked, looking worriedly at him. Masaomi also had a look of concern on his face.

Kouki shook his head as he bit his lip. "No, nothing's wrong. But...I've been lying to you about something."

Seijuurou looked bewildered at this. "What did you lie about?" Masaomi was now frowning at the hesitant looking boy.

Sighing, Kouki finally looked up from his drink and confessed, "The truth is, I'm not actually a beta. What I've been hiding is that I'm actually a....um, I'm an omega actually." Looking at the father and son and seeing their expressions, Kouki flushed even more and frantically began explaining, "Sorry I didn't say so from the start but well, um, I've been taking suppressants since I presented in middle school and my doctor advised me to keep my secondary gender a secret since male omegas are rare and I should only reveal myself until I bonded with my mate and uh, I really was gonna tell Sei about it soon since my heat is coming next month and well, since the topic of children came up I thought you guys should know that we don't need to hire a surrogate or go for adoption since, well, we can make children ourselves and uh, well, yeah...yeah."

Masaomi continued to stare at his future son-in-law, watching as the omega started to wave his hand in front of his son's stunned face.

Furihata Kouki was a MALE OMEGA? One of the very rare and highly sought-after male omegas that people (specifically the rich) would literally fight and DIE for in order to capture their attention, let alone become their mate. And his son just happened to get himself a male omega who was unassuming at first sight but incredibly loyal and with immeasurable strength just like that?

And for the third time that day, Akashi Masaomi once again found himself in a state of utter shock.

Furihata Kouki would definitely bring the Akashi family many surprises from now on.


	6. Chapter 6

## A Stack Of Green Tea Pancakes

Kouki yawned as he stretched his arms in the air. Sleepily blinking his eyes a few times, Kouki turned his head to his right and was surprised to see his lover sleeping besides him. Usually, Seijuurou was the one to wake up first and wait for the brunette to awaken. This was probably the first time Kouki got to see his alpha's sleeping face.

Seijuurou looked younger in his sleep. There were no stress lines on his face and his usually sharp eyes were closed, making him look quite innocent.

Kouki grinned as he lightly played with some of the red hair that was sticking up from the heir's head. Giving a small kiss on the redhead's forehead, Kouki carefully got up from the bed and quietly made his way to the bathroom.

After relieving himself, the omega took a quick shower to wash away any traces of last night's lovemaking- he'd die of embarrassment if he had to look at the sly winks and secret thumbs up that the Akashi house staff would give him...again. When he was freshened up, he made his way back to the bed before his stomach rumbled loudly. Kouki paused a bit before a thought flashed up in his mind.

Since it was rare for him to wake up before his lover, why doesn't he take this opportunity to make Seijuurou breakfast in bed? Blushing a bit at the cheesiness of the idea, Kouki couldn't help but feel excited for his plan.

Carefully adjusting the comforter over the sleeping heir, Kouki quietly left the room and made his way to the kitchen (after getting lost four times in the past, Kouki finally knew his way around the entire Akashi estate- well, the one in Tokyo anyway. He still lost his way sometimes in the Kyoto mansion).

"Good morning Chiyoko-san, Keiko-san, Nori-san!" Kouki greeted as he walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kouki-sama." Manami Chiyoko, alpha head chef in the Akashi Tokyo residence, smiled warmly at him.

"Good morning, Kouki-sama!" Greeted the other two ladies wearing maid uniforms, Matsunaga Keiko and Kiko Nori. Both beta girls were folding linens and arranging silverware in the kitchen while the chef was currently placing the newly bought groceries in the fridge.

"What would you like for breakfast, Kouki-sama?" Chiyoko asked, gesturing the brunette to sit at the kitchen counter.

The entire Akashi staff absolutely loved Furihata Kouki. Not only did the omega have such a great influence on their young master but his mere presence, friendly attitude and sweet but calming scent was like a bright sun shining brilliantly inside the Akashi residence. Kouki also had a hidden talent in being able to remember every name and matching it to every face that was introduced to him- thanks to this, Kouki never failed to greet each Akashi employee by name with a sometimes shaky (if he wasn't used to them yet) but always cheerful smile. The staff couldn't help but spoil Kouki rotten whenever he came over.

Instead of sitting at the counter, Kouki stood by it as he looked at Chiyoko with a bit of nervousness. "Actually, Chiyoko-san? I was wondering if I could ask for a favor? Since today is the first time I managed to wake up before Sei, I was hoping if I could make him some breakfast and eat it together with, uh, him in his r-room?" Kouki asked, stuttering a bit at the end.

All three girls cooed at the brunette's bashful look- Kouki's timid nature always managed to pull at their maternal strings. Chiyoko smiled kindly at the boy and nodded her head. "Of course, Kouki-sama. I think that's a wonderful idea. I can assist you if you would like?" She offered.

Kouki smiled widely at her as he shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm actually a pretty good cook. Please continue doing whatever you were doing before I was coming in. Ah! But can you help show me where the ingredients I'll be using is?" He asked looking sheepish.

"Of course, Kouki-sama." When all the ingredients were gathered onto the kitchen counter, Kouki began whisking self-rising flour, green tea powder, sugar and salt together in a big bowl.

One of the maids, Nori, looked at what the omega was mixing. "If I may ask, what will you be making, Kouki-sama?" She asked, looking curious.

In another bowl, Kouki was mixing together egg, milk, butter, vanilla extract and cream cheese together. He looked back at Nori as he answered, "I'm making green tea pancakes topped with strawberries and a white chocolate sauce. I've made it for Sei at my house before and he really liked it then. I hope he still likes it now though."

"I'm sure Seijuurou-sama would love anything you cook for him!" Nori assured him enthusiastically.

The second maid, Keiko, paused in folding one of the napkins as she looked up and nodded. "Green tea pancakes sounds delicious. What made you think of adding green tea?"

Making a well in the flour mixture, Kouki poured in the wet ingredients and stirred everything together. "I love putting green tea into whatever I cook. I like how the mellow green tea flavor just somehow enhances the food that I make. I cook with it very often- whether in sweets or even savory food."

As the griddle was heated up and lightly greased, Kouki began cooking his pancakes. The kitchen was quiet for a while, the only sounds coming from the sizzling of the pancakes and the tinkling of the silverware as Nori arranged them. After a while, Nori broke the silence as she asked, "Kouki-sama? May I ask you something?"

Kouki flipped one of the pancakes as he nodded. "Yes, Nori-san?"

"I was always curious, but may I ask how you and Seijuurou-sama first met?" Nori asked, looking at Kouki excitedly with stars in her eyes. Keiko elbowed her, hissing about what she was thinking asking that as Chiyoko was also looking at the boy, curious as well.

Kouki almost dropped one of the pancakes he was flipping when the question was asked, but after saving it, he cleared his throat. "Uh, w-why do you want to know, Nori-san?"

Nori huffed as she swat at Keiko when the fellow maid elbowed her again. "I just always wondered how you two got together. Don't get me wrong- anyone can see the true bond between you two, but you both are complete opposites. I really want to know how you first met! I bet it was so romantic!"

Kouki cleared his throat as he poured in the next batch of pancakes, not saying anything. After a minute, he finally spoke up. "It's okay, Keiko-san. I don't mind telling you at all. But, um, my first meeting with Sei wasn't exactly the best..." Kouki scratched his cheek, sheepishly.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_He should leave. That's what his mind was screaming at him._

_On coach's orders, he joined Kuroko to his meeting with the Generation of Miracles. Against his omega instinct screaming at him to turn tail and run, he followed Kuroko, watching with slightly feared eyes as four of the five scariest high school basketball players in Japan was right in front of him. As he watched their interaction with one another, he was surprised to see that they were indeed just ordinary teenage alphas- who were insane demons at basketball- but ordinary teenage alphas nonetheless . His anxiety levels were lowering a bit as he watched them talk. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all._

_And then Akashi Seijuurou arrived._

_Even though the alpha was basically the same height as Kouki- only about an inch taller than himself- his presence was totally dominating and overwhelming (more than the usual alpha presence). When Akashi had looked at him with those piercing red and gold eyes, ordering him to leave, Kouki's feet were already turning around as they prepared to run like hell._

_Then Kagami came in at that moment and suddenly Kouki's body shut down as he froze, looking horrified as Akashi aimed at Kagami with Midorima's borrowed scissors, which Kagami thankfully dodged at the last second._

_Yes. He should have just left._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

The room was silent for a moment.

"Seijuurou-sama..." Nori-san groaned, looking in disbelief. This was not the love story she was hoping for.

Keiko shrugged. "I expected that." She knew the young master well.

Chiyoko nodded too. "At least Seijuurou-sama is getting help with that." She pointed out.

Kouki smiled as he nodded. "Yes! The therapy sessions are definitely helpful. Doctor Miyabi is so nice and understanding." Since the winter cup, Akashi's father finally realized the mental state of his son and went to get Seijuurou some help. Kouki himself have accompanied his lover to his therapy sessions whenever the redhead would invite him to.

"Well, I'm sure he managed to steal your heart on your second meeting!" Nori looked hopefully at the brunette.

Kouki shook his head, looking uncomfortable. "A-actually, our second meeting was even scarier than the first. I think. Actually, I don't really remember it all too well to be honest..."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Coach was truly a demon. Why would she send a benchwarmer like him out onto the court? A timid omega like him (though no one actually knew he was an omega since the suppressants he took made him come off as a beta) shouldn't be here. And up against Akashi freaking Seijuurou?_

_Ah, he never expected to die today._

_His teammates are telling him something. Nope. He can't understand them. He still doesn't really understand how he's on the basketball court right now, during their final, most important game that decides the winner to the entire tournament._

_Oh! Now he's on the ground. Did he trip?_

_Dammit, the game started._

_Seriously, he really can't understand whoever is talking to him. Hopefully whatever he's saying back to them is making sense._

_The only part that Kouki remembers clearly from that match is that suddenly a wave of determination hit him (the reason why totally escapes him) and when the ball is in his hands, he automatically focuses as he shoots the ball._

_Ah. He managed to make a basket against Akashi freaking Seijuurou. Cool._

_The omega suddenly gets hit with a spicy scent of cinnamon, star anise and a library full of books. Kouki loves this scent._

_And again, Kouki finds himself on the ground._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Nori merely groaned, looking mournfully at Kouki.

Keiko smirked at Nori as she she turned to grin at Kouki. "Congratulations Kouki-sama. You had worked hard. Scoring against Seijuuurou-sama is a feat in itself."

The brunette smiled proudly. "Thank you, Keiko-san."

"Hmm. It seems that maybe young master's scent might have affected you since that was your first time being in close proximity with him." Keiko pointed out.

Kouki nodded. "That's also what Sei said later on. He said that my scent had affected him as well during the game- he was distracted when I made that basket."

"Well, Kouki-sama you do smell amazing. Like toasted marshmallows, vanilla beans and a brewing tea house. Very sweet but with a calming effect to it. I can just imagine how intense it would be if you weren't bonded!" Nori exclaimed. She sighed in disappointment. "Your second meeting with Seijuurou-sama was much more terrible than the first."

Chiyoko tutted at Nori as she spoke, "Now, now, Nori. I'm sure third times the charm."

Kouki's eyes twinkled a bit as he nodded his head. "Yes. Actually, it was."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_He was sitting right next to Akashi Seijuurou._

_Why was fate so cruel to him?_

_He was already mortified at himself for fainting at the mere sight of the redhead earlier (in his defense, he had been expecting his senpai at the door, not the demon captain of Rakuzan and the Generation of miracles). Now he had somehow found himself sitting next to the demon himself as everyone around them enjoyed Kuroko's party. He even toasted his drink with Akashi as the alpha told him that he couldn't wait to play together again (like hell that would happen again. Kouki might even fake sick on the day of that future match)._

_With his nerves peaked, Kouki shakily lifted his cup to his lips and tried to take a sip. 'Tried' being the key word. He was shaking so hard that he managed to miss his mouth and ended up pouring his entire drink all over the front of his sweater._

_"Ack! Dammit and this was my favorite sweater." Kouki groaned as he grabbed a napkin to try soak up some of the excess soda. He jolted when he felt someone pull him up and couldn't help but let out a quiet shriek as he realized that it was Akashi who pulled him up. "Y-y-y-yes?" He stuttered at the redhead, seconds away from fainting for a second time that night._

_Akashi didn't say anything as he held onto his arm and carefully pulled the brunette away from the others (who didn't notice them leave as they were too busy in their own conversations)._

_Thinking for a moment that Akashi was finally using his chance to sneak away from the party in order to murder him, Kouki started to panic as he saw that the redhead was bringing him to the bathroom._

_As they both entered the room and Akashi locked the door, he turned to Kouki. "Furihata-san?"_

_Kouki's thoughts of whether it was possible to drown your head in a toilet were interrupted when he heard his name being called. "Y-y-yes?!"_

_Akashi blinked a bit at the loud volume of Kouki's voice before gesturing towards his sweater. "I think it would be easier if you were to remove your sweater."_

_"E-eh?!" Kouki gasped, looking at the other in shock. Would he be stripped off first so when his naked body was found by the others, not only would he be dead but also humiliated on top if it all? Or did the other find out that he was indeed a MALE omega and was going to RAPE him first before actually killing him?!_

_Akashi sighed as he could smell the fear the shaking beta in front of him was omitting. He gestured towards the front of the brunette's stained sweater. "If we remove your sweater, it would be easier to clean it. It'll stain soon if we don't."_

_Kouki paused his panicking thoughts and merely blinked at Akashi for a few seconds before asking, "Wait...so you're n-not going to d-drown me in the tub?"_

_Akashi looked confused at the question. "I wasn't planning on it."_

_"...Or the t-toilet?" Kouki just needed to make sure._

_The alpha definitely looked amused now. "No. And not even the sink if you're wondering." He teasingly added._

_Kouki blushed, now realizing how stupid he was acting. "Ah, um, right. S-sorry."_

_They were both quiet for a while before Akashi cleared his throat. "Your sweater?"_

_Kouki jumped up as he quickly pulled off his sweater. "Ah, r-right!" They both quickly washed off the stain until it was barely noticeable. Sighing in relief since his sweater was saved (it was a gift from his brother) Kouki held the drying cloth in his arms before looking up to see Akashi wiping off his hands. Taking a deep breath, Kouki managed to speak up without any stutter this time. "Thank you, Akashi-san."_

_Akashi looked up at him and gave him a gentle smile. "It's no problem at all, Furihata-san. Shall we go back to the party?"_

_As the redhead turned to open the door, Kouki surprised them both when he suddenly yelled, "S-Sorry!"_

_Akashi looked back at him with wide eyes, waiting for the brunette to continue. Kouki reddened even more as he realized the attention that he brought upon himself. Taking a deep breath, Kouki shut his eyes closed as he gave a deep bow. "I'm sorry for thinking you were going to k-kill me!"_

_Carefully looking up, Kouki saw Akashi giving him a sad smile as he shook his head. "Please do not apologize, Furihata-san. After the way I've acted before, I completely understand why you would be so cautious of me. I'm the one who should apologize."_

_Kouki stood up straight. For the first time, he truly looked Akashi Seijuurou face to face. Seeing Akashi in front of him now, looking very sad and disappointed in himself, Kouki realized that Akashi truly did change from before. He still had that majestic air around him, but it wasn't quite as intimidating or even really frightening like before._

_"No, you shouldn't apologize to me. You didn't even hurt me personally." Kouki said, trying to cheer the redhead up._

_Akashi's mouth quirked up at that. "So you're saying that you're not afraid of me?"_

_"Oh no. I'm definitely scared shitless of you." Kouki immediately spoke up without thinking. He then choked, blushing at his rudeness. Akashi was also taken aback by the honest and quick answer. Staring at each other with wide eyes, both boys suddenly erupted into giggles._

_Gasping for air, Kouki panted, "Well, I WAS scared of you. But I don't really think so anymore." And Kouki was right- seeing the Akashi heir with such a gentle smile, laughing so carefree...he looked like someone Kouki could easily be friends with. Kouki had made such an unfair judgment on the alpha. "The way I've acted around you is really unfair to you. I'm really sorr-"_

_"Please don't, Furihata-san." Akashi held up his palm to stop him. "If I shouldn't apologize, then you shouldn't neither." They both smiled at each other before Kouki suddenly held out his hand._

_"Let's start over then. Hi! My name is Furihata Kouki. I'm a first year at Seirin and my hobbies are trains and drawing. Let's be friends?" Kouki added, looking sheepish._

_Even thought he felt a tad bit silly introducing himself, Kouki was rewarded with a grin from the alpha. Akashi reached out and shook his hand. "Hello. My name is Akashi Seijuurou. I am a first year at Rakuzan and my hobbies are shogi and horseback riding. I would love to be friends with you."_

_They both chuckled once again at the ridiculousness of the situation. A knock at the door stopped their laughter. Akashi opened the door and they both saw the birthday boy himself, Kuroko Tetsuya, standing there with his usual blank look on his face (though Kouki felt as if there was something else in the blunette's expression that he couldn't quite make out)._

_Kuroko blinked as he looked at the unlikely duo. "You two have been in there for quite some time- May I use the restroom please?" Kuroko raised an eyebrow at them._

_"A-Ah, yeah! Sorry Kuroko." Kouki apologized as he made his way outside._

_"Of course, Tetsuya. We apologize for taking so long." Akashi replied as he moved outside. Giving one more cryptic glance at the two, Kuroko closed the bathroom door behind him._

_Standing awkwardly outside, Kouki chuckled a bit too loudly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess we should go back to the party, huh Akashi-san?"_

_Akashi smiled before saying, "Yes. And Furihata-san, since we're friends now I feel quite uncomfortable being addressed so formally. You may call me by my first name."_

_Kouki blushed a bright red at that. "O-okay, Sei-Sei-S-Sei..."_

_Akashi chuckled at that. "Sei sounds perfect."_

_At Akashi's laugh, Kouki smiled widely at him. "Okay, but you have to call me by my first name too, Aka- uh, I mean Sei." Kouki looked sheepishly at him._

_Akashi gave Kouki one of those genuine wide smiles of his. "Alright, Kouki. Let's definitely make plans to meet up again."_

_And this time, Kouki was pretty sure that his health would be perfectly fine when those plans eventually were made._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Nori sighed happily. "Now THAT'S a story I wanted to hear!"

"That was such a lovely tale." Chiyoko nodded, as she helped Kouki slice up the strawberries.

"So that was how you and the young master became friends. Did he know that you were an omega at that time?" Keiko gave in to her curiosity as she asked Kouki.

Kouki shook his head. "No one knew except a few teachers at school and my older brother. Sei, like everyone else, thought I was a beta. The truth eventually came out a few weeks after we started dating. My status was very obvious after after we had bonded." He explained.

"How did you both begin dating?" Nori questioned.

Kouki chuckled as melted some white chocolate and cream together for the sauce. He had already finished with the pancakes. "Now THAT'S a whole other story. I'll tell you guys next time." He promised.

"Ahhhhhh...." Nori pouted, waving around some tablecloths in her hands.

"Okay, I think I'm done." Kouki announced. He put four pancakes onto a big white plate and topped them off with the sliced strawberries and placed a small cup of the chocolate sauce on the side. Putting the plate onto the tray that Keiko had brought out, he also added the cutlery, napkins and two cups of coffee (one black and the other with no sugar but filled with ALOT of cream).

"I've made extra pancakes so please feel free to share them among yourselves and the others- I know pancakes are Taishou-san's favorite so please make sure you give him extra." Kouki told them as he lifted up the tray.

The women smiled at him, once again taken in by how considerate the brunette was. "Don't worry, Kouki-sama. I'm sure Taishou will dig into the pancakes right away as soon as he finishes tending to the flowers." Chiyoko assured him.

"Once you both finish your meal, please just leave the tray and dishes outside your door- I shall collect them later." Keiko added.

"Have a nice day, Kouki-sama!" Nori chirped as she waved at him.

Kouki nodded and thanked them once more before heading to his boyfriend's room. Making his way to the bed, Kouki put the tray down ontop the side table before leaning over to wake his boyfriend up.

He squealed as two arms suddenly wound themselves around his waist and pull him down. Suddenly a pair of soft lips met his and Kouki smiled into the kiss as he straddled his boyfriend to get some of his balance back. Giving his lover one last peck, Kouki sat up as he saw Akashi grinning up at him.

Placing a hand gently on the redhead's chest, Kouki teasingly told his boyfriend, "Morning breath."

Akashi pinched Kouki's sides, making his boyfriend laugh, as he pouted, "That's how you're going to greet me in the morning, Kouki?"

Giggling, Kouki leaned in to give Akashi a thorough kiss before smiling impishly at him. "Even with morning breath, I still love you Sei." Giving one last peck, Kouki moved off his boyfriend. "And I also greet you with some breakfast!" He announced as he grabbed the tray and went back to his boyfriend's side, balancing the breakfast on their laps.

Akashi made an appreciative noise as he grabbed his coffee and took a sip from it. "This looks lovely Kouki. Did you make this?" He asked as he gestured towards the dish.

Kouki nodded as he also took a sip of his milky coffee. "Yup! I made my special green tea pancakes topped with strawberries and a white chocolate sauce."

Akashi hummed as he drizzled some of the sauce onto the pancakes. Kouki cut a piece of the pancake and fed it to Akashi. Murmuring happily as he chewed, Akashi gave Kouki a smile when he swallowed the bite, "It's delicious as always. This is definitely one of my favorite dishes of yours." Kouki smiled back happily as Akashi fed him a bite of pancake in return.

As they ate their breakfast and drank their coffees, Kouki mentioned how he told some of the staff about their first meeting.

Akashi grimaced as the memory of their first meeting came to mind, "I truly regret my actions that day."

Kouki shook his head as he hugged his boyfriend tightly. "Our first and also second meeting was really terrifying. But I don't regret anything because I still got to meet you all the same." Feeling his boyfriend's lips on his neck, exactly where his bond mark was, Kouki tilted his head so his alpha could properly scent him again. "And if anything, our third meeting went pretty well, if I do say so myself."

Akashi paused in his scent marking as he smirked at the brunette. "Wasn't that the time where you thought I was going to drown you inside the toilet?"

Kouki jabbed his boyfriend hard in the side, feeling triumphant as he heard his boyfriend groan in pain. "Don't mock me. Later on when I researched it with Fukuda, I found out that it is indeed possible to drown someone in a toilet, thank you very much. My fear was totally justified."

Akashi gave him a serious look, although Kouki could see his eyes still held a teasing glint in them. "I, Akashi Seijuurou, promise you, Furihata Kouki, that I will never drown you in the bathroom. Especially the toilet."

Kouki grinned as he leaned in to give his boyfriend a loud smack on the lips. "That's all I ask."


	7. Chapter 7

## A Green Tea Rice Bowl Called Ochazuke

"Now remember- my room is off limits, don't leave the kotatsu on all night or Kouki will pass out from heat stroke and most importantly, always remember- NO GLOVE, NO LOVE." Kouta reminded his little brother's mate with a stern look on his face.

Furihata Kouta was a third year college student majoring in Engineering and also Kouki's older brother/legal guardian. He looked like a taller version of Kouki but while Kouki was lean, Kouta was thicker with muscles and his eyes were sharper than his younger brother's. But their resemblance was obvious since both brothers had the same coloring, freckles, messy brown locks and warm smile.

While Kouki was presented as one of the rare male omegas, Kouta had presented as an alpha. Due to this pairing, it was obvious how protective the older brother was over his sibling.

When Kouta had first been introduced to his brother's bond mate (well, soon-to-be bond mate at that time since they had been planning to bond on Kouki's upcoming heat that month) the older brother had initially disapproved. He had no real reason to disapprove of the redhead (when speaking with Seijuurou, Kouta automatically could tell how much the smart, good looking, insanely rich alpha had genuinely fallen head over heels in love with his little brother).

But Kouta didn't need a reason. Kouki was not only shy but friendly to those around him and a MALE omega to boot, but Kouki was foremost and most importantly his baby brother dammit! Like hell Kouta was going to give his brother to another alpha, especially at such a young age (maybe if Kouki was 40, then Kouta would think about it).

When his brother's mate had actually gotten on his knees and bowed deeply, asking for the chance to prove his worth for his brother, Kouta had to admit that he was slightly impressed that the obviously prideful alpha would lower himself to him. But what really softened his resolve was when his baby brother bowed next to his boyfriend and pleaded for him to approve of Seijuurou (Kouta had always been weak to Kouki's tears).

Kouta finally agreed to give the redhead a proper chance and eventually- pretty much took about a day- Seijuurou managed to tear down his walls and had gotten his approval. What really got to Kouta was when he and Seijuurou bonded over board and card games (Seijuurou was delighted to find another person to play his favorite game with- the older Furihata was just as good at shogi as Midorima and gave him a good challenge).

Kouki poked his head out of the kitchen and rolled his eyes at his brother. "Nii-san! Stop harassing Sei and go already! You're gonna miss your movie!" He complained.

Kouta blanched when he saw the time and grabbed his bag as he went to the doorway to slip on his shoes. "After the movie, me and my friends will get a bite to eat and then I should be back around 11pm. Meaning: No funny business while I'm gone. And by funny business I mean no flipping out the wang in order to bang." He gave them a warning look as he said this.

Kouki choked, "NII-SAN!"

Seijuurou merely looked amused (he had grown used to the brother's interactions) as he looked up from the kotatsu. "Kouta-niisan, I promise that we will only enjoy having a nice dinner and movie here. There will be nothing inappropriate that will happen tonight." He assured.

Kouta raised his eyebrow at the fellow alpha. "Yeah, you're like my brother from another mother Seijuurou but the last time you promised not to do anything 'inappropriate' I ended up walking in on the two of you doing the horizontal tango on the kitchen table." He reminded, pointing his finger accusingly.

Kouki groaned as he walked up to his brother in order to get him to leave faster. "For the last time, we were only kissing when I tripped and we accidentally landed on the table."

Kouta scoffed. "Yeah, and I suppose your zipper just accidentally got pulled down and Seijuurou's shirt just magically came off when you landed on the table as well?"

His little brother blushed a bright red as he opened the front door and started to shove his brother outside. "Okay, bye nii-san! Have fun with your movie! Remember to not stay out too late since the news said that a storm was planning on hitting us tonight."

"Take care, Kouta-niisan." Seijuurou called from behind.

"Okay, okay. See you both later. Have a fun date night. But if you do begin to heehaw later on, Seijuurou you need to remember to cuff your carrot before you share it. If you can't shield your rocket, then keep it in your pocket. Wrap that pickle, then slip him the tickle. Don't make a mistake, cover your snake. Cover your stump before you-" Kouta's voice was cut off as soon as Kouki shoved him completely outside and slammed the door behind him.

Sighing loudly, Kouki walked back to the kitchen as he grumbled about how embarrassing his brother was and how he should mess with his brother's CDs later on as payback.

Seijuurou chuckled as he shook his head at the two brothers. It always amused him seeing the two bicker. But he was also jealous at how close they were and the brotherly love they obviously shared together- it made the redhead wish that he wasn't an only child.

"Kouki. Do you need some help with dinner?" Seijuurou called up, standing up from the kotatsu and stretching his legs.

"I'm good- the ochazuke is almost ready. I'm just waiting for the rice to finish. I'll should be out in five minutes." Kouki answered back, placing the small side dishes on the tray.

Seijuurou walked around the living room, observing the photos that were displayed all over the walls and shelves. There were pictures of both Kouki and Kouta as they grew up, solo shots and ones with their friends. There were pictures of Seirin and Kouki with his two best friends, Fukuda and Kawahara. Seijuurou smiled when he saw pictures of himself with his mate- his favorite being a photo of them holding hands and smiling in Italy (it took the alpha two weeks to convince the omega to take their winter vacation there).

As he looked at all the photos, Seijuurou noticed that there were no photos of the Furihata's parents or other family members. He had asked Kouki before about his parents and the brunette merely answered that they had both passed away when he was young. The alpha had found it strange when he had first visited his mate's house and found that there was no alter or shrine that was put up to honor his deceased parents. But there was a small shrine in the corner to honor the brother's past legal guardian- a kind looking women who looked to be in her mid-forties named Ryoko-san.

At Seijuurou's own home, there was a large built-in temple with a vastly wide garden and koi pond that was made to honor his own departed mother. So why was there no trace of the brunette's parents in the house?

The redhead's thoughts were interrupted when he heard his boyfriend coming into the living room. He walked towards the other and gently took the tray to place the dishes onto the kotatsu. Kouki gave him a small kiss of thanks before going back into the kitchen. On the tray was two bowls of steaming white rice and small dishes containing crushed rice crackers, salmon that had been flaked into smaller pieces, pickled vegetables, dried plums, thin strips of seaweed, sesame seeds, wasabi and soy sauce. When Kouki came back with the teapot, he placed it on the table and took the tray to put to the side.

"This smells delicious, Kouki." Akashi complimented, opening his arms so the omega could cuddle inside them.

Snuggling up to his mate, Kouki sighed as he smiled up at the other. "My adopted mother would always make ochazuke on stormy nights like this. I always wanted to eat something warm whenever it rained." He explained. Seijuurou took note of the mention of their adopted mother, but not their birth mother.

The two placed whatever toppings that wanted onto their rice (Kouki giggled when his boyfriend wrinkled his nose as the brunette had added seaweed in his own bowl) and Seijuurou carefully poured the hot green tea over everything.

They both dug into their meals and moaned in delight at how delicious it was. "So we're watching the action movie that recently came out? Isn't it still playing in theaters?" Kouki asked as he added a bit of soy sauce into his bowl.

Pressing the play button, Seijuurou shrugged. "My family has connections with one of the film makers."

The couple ate their meal as the movie started to play. About twenty minutes into the movie, Kouki gasped as the electricity came off and suddenly they were shrouded in nothing but darkness. "S-Sei?" Kouki stuttered, worried. He felt his boyfriend's arms tighten around him, assuring the brunette that he was right there.

"I'm here, Kouki. Don't worry- the storm most likely caused the shortage. Do you have any flashlights or candles that we can use?" Seijuurou asked him gently, giving off a calming scent to help soothe his omega's panic.

Kouki nodded. "There's candles inside the kitchen." Holding hands, they both carefully went to get the candles. A boom of thunder sounded which caused Kouki to jump in fright. Seijuurou brought the other against his side, rubbing the other's lower back for reassurance.

Making it back to the kotatsu, Seijuurou lit the candles and Kouki sighed as light filled the dark room. "Better?" Seijuurou asked, feeling his mate relax against him.

Kouki nodded as he reached for his rice bowl. "Yup. It's kinda romantic, isn't it? A candlelit dinner?" Kouki blushed.

Seijuurou chuckled as he nodded, leaning down to place a kiss on the other's cheek. "It is." They finished their dinner, conversing with one another in the cozy atmosphere. When they put the dishes away, they decided to move to the couch since Kouki was starting to feel hot inside the kotatsu.

Snuggling up to his alpha on the couch, Kouki yawned as he sleepily stared at one of the burning candles.

Seijuurou on the other hand had his mind occupied once again with his previous thoughts about his mate's parents. He knew that he shouldn't pry into something that wasn't his business, but he couldn't help but wonder about the people who had brought the love of his life into this world. As he wondered about whether he should ask or not, he looked down when he felt Kouki grab his hand and give it a squeeze.

"Sei?" The alpha looked down and saw the worried look on Kouki's face. The omega didn't look very tired anymore. "I can feel you worrying about something. Is something the matter?" It was at times like this where the alpha would secretly curse the fact that since they were bonded, it allowed bond mates to feel what their partner was feeling all the time. Most of the time, Seijuurou loved knowing how his omega was feeling- especially when he was away in Kyoto since distance had no affect on their bond. He would give the other calls or even drop in for a surprise visit whenever he felt that his omega was in distress. But what Seijuurou didn't like was when his own mate could sense what he was feeling as well- Kouki would call him to give him a scolding whenever he could feel that his alpha was once again overworking himself.

Deciding to be truthful, Sei admitted, "I'm not really worrying about it, but I have been thinking about your parents."

Kouki sat up straight at that, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "My parents? Why?"

Seijuurou pulled the brunette close to him again as he explained, "I've noticed that you don't really have any photos or mementos of your parents in this house. You don't mention them anywhere in conversation. You even have a small shrine honoring your adopted parent by not your birth parents. I was just wondering why that was." Seeing his boyfriend looking blankly at him, Seijuurou hurriedly added. "But you don't have to tell me anything- it's none of my business after all."

Kouki looked at him for a while before looking down. He shook his head as he said, "No, no. It's okay. I should have known that you would want to know more about me. Especially since I pretty much know a lot about you and what you've been through." Even before they dated, Kouki pretty much got the alpha's backstory from what Kuroko had told their team and also from what Seijuurou had said so himself. Even Masaomi would tell him stories about his ex-wife, Shiori, and how she and Seijuurou got along. And all the while, Kouki didn't share much about himself and his own history.

Seijuurou sat up a bit straighter as he looked at the omega with anticipated interest. "Is it really alright for you to tell me about them? You don't have to if it'll make you uncomfortable." He reminded the other gently.

Kouki smiled a little as he nodded, "Actually, it'll be very uncomfortable for me. But it's only because my past isn't exactly a fairy tale. It's pretty bad, actually." He admitted, eyes looking down.

Eyes widening, the redhead looked at the other in question. "Did something horrible happen to you?" He looked a bit angry at the possibility of something hurting his mate.

Kouki hugged himself close to the other, letting his scent relax his agitated alpha. "Calm down, Sei. I can't say that I wasn't hurt but...I guess I need to tell you the entire story of my family and what happened in my childhood for it to make sense."

Taking breaths of his omega's sweet smell, Seijuurou shook his head. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to, Kouki." He repeated once more. He was starting to think twice about whether he would be able to keep calm about while listening to the other's past- it definitely didn't sound good.

Kouki nodded as he sat back to look at Seijuurou in the face. "I want to tell you. Since I plan to be with you for a long time, longer than forever if I could help it, I would eventually need to tell you anyway. Better now than later." He managed to give a slight grin to which Seijuurou hesitantly returned.

"Okay, if you're sure." Seijuurou held the other in his arms, giving him soothing rubs to his back.

Relaxing in the other's hold, Kouki thought about how to start off. The room was silent for a few minutes but Seijuurou didn't say anything as he waited for his mate to collect his thoughts. He merely held onto his omega and waited for the other to start.

Kouki took a deep breath before he began to play with Seijuurou's hand, not meeting the other's eyes. "Me and my mama were 13 years apart." He began.

Seijuurou's eyes widened at that. "Wait, but that means...and your older brother..."

Kouki smiled sadly as he nodded. "Yeah. Mama was only nine when he first gave birth to nii-san and thirteen when he had me. And my father was over thirty years older than mama." Looking up to see the horror on his boyfriend's face, Kouki gave his hand a squeeze before returning to his story.

"As you know, I'm actually half Spanish. Mama was born from an old-fashioned Spanish family. Mama's family worked in a very shady business. Even now, I'm not really sure what they did but nii-san suspects it must have included omega trafficking. And unfortunately, mama presented really young as a rare male omega."

Seijuurou's eyes widened at that. "Your mother was a male omega as well?" Closing his eyes, the redhead nodded. "It does make sense- I've heard that male omegas have a slighter higher chance in giving birth to other omegas than other couples."

Kouki sighed. "Yeah, but the chance is still really small for the birth rate of male omegas. Sei, from this point on the story gets really bad so I would like to ask for you to not interrupt since I don't know if I'll be able to continue and finish my story if you do." Seeing his boyfriend nod, Kouki continued. "Anyway, my father visited Spain for work purposes and found out about mama's family business and decided to get involved. My father was truly a sick man- he was an alpha who was only attracted to young omegas. Really young. My father was a pedophile.

"I'm not sure what happened, but somehow my father blackmailed my mama's family and his family ended up having to give him a large amount of money and had to give him my mama as 'payment'. With the money and my mama (who was only 8 years old at the time) my father managed to smuggle them unnoticed back to Japan. My father's place in Chiba was a house that was pretty normal looking with large gates and no visible windows to ensure privacy from the neighbors. Living together, my father immediately forced himself onto mama.

"Being so young, mama didn't know what was going on and couldn't stop my father from raping him over and over. My father only wanted my mama to breed him more omegas so he could 'play' with them. Father ended up impregnating mama a total of seven times before mama's death but only me and nii-san had survived. The others died in either miscarriages or days after they were born from complications. In fact, I'm actually supposed to be a twin- but my twin sister died while I was the one who survived.

"Growing up in our house was strange. You would think it would be a nightmare but it was actually pretty normal. My father would go out to work in the mornings and came back at night with dinner. Mama would always stay at home, do simple house chores but never once did I remember him ever going outside our gates. My father only had sex with children once they had presented as an omega, sometimes a beta if he was desperate. Never alphas though- they disgusted him for some reason. So he only ever touched me and nii-san and would sometimes 'convince' us to touch him back. He made us promise not to tell others- that it was our little secret game that only we could play. Nii-san and I was so young and naive...we didn't know that it wasn't normal letting your father touch your private parts or letting your father make out with you was wrong.

"When mama turned eighteen, father no longer had use for him since he was 'too old'. Being a mother at such a young age and with no proper education, my mama's personality was very childlike. But he was nice to all of us and always had a kind smile on his face. He didn't really know how to raise us- me and nii-san had to pretty much fend for ourselves since mama was clueless and father was usually 'out' and only came back at night. All mama knew was how to satisfy my father's sexual urges and how to get pregnant. And when it came to the time that my father no longer wanted him, that was when my mama lost it.

"I remember the morning where mama handed me and nii-san our bentos as we were going to school. Mama smiled as he told us that he loved us and that he wished he could have been a better mother to us. Later on when I came home to show mama the picture I drew, I saw mama hanging from the ceiling inside my parent's bedroom. I'm not sure how long I stood there, frozen in shock before nii-san came home and held me as we both cried for our mama's death. My father came home late and didn't even care that mama had killed himself. He merely threatened us not to tell anyone and got rid of the body in secret. That was the first time I realized that my father was not the man I thought he was.

"About three years later, nii-san had presented as an alpha. My father used to be very loving towards the both of us but when nii-san became an alpha, father completely ignored him and put all his attention onto me. He told me that I was too cute to be an alpha and how he had a feeling I would be a lovely beta or even an omega like mama was. By that time, nii-san and I began to realize that what our father was doing wasn't normal- in fact, it was downright illegal. Since we grew up that way, we were confused about everything. We didn't know if we should confront father about it or to tell someone what was happening.

"Then one night on my tenth birthday, father came home completely inebriated. He came onto me and held me down, kissing me until my lips bled. I was terrified when he started to rip off my clothes. I cried and screamed for help. Nii-san (who was preparing my birthday dinner in the kitchen) came and saw what was happening. He immediately kicked father off of me and ran with me outside of our house. Father chased us down the street and when he caught up to us he grabbed my brother and started to beat him. I immediately started screaming my head off and that's when the neighbors came out and saw what was happening.

"They separated my father from nii-san and when the police came, nii-san finally told everyone what father did to us over the years. I was still confused and crying, but all I could say was how I wanted my mama but father took him somewhere else. When the police searched our house, they found mama's body and eleven other smaller, younger bodies (both omega and beta) hidden in various trunks in the basement. Apparently my father would have sex with children other than mama and when he would rape someone who fought back, father made sure to get rid of them soon after.

"Father was arrested and sent to prison on the counts of first degree murder, sex with a minor, omega and beta abuse/rape....and a whole lot of things that I really do not want to remember. A month later, we got news that father tried to rape the wrong omega in prison and he ended up getting killed by the omega's alpha. I never felt more relieved in my life knowing that my father would never be able to come back and hurt us ever again.

"Nii-san refused to let child services break me and him apart. Thankfully, a sweet middle aged beta named Ryoko-san who worked at child services was happy to adopt and care for us. She was a widow who had lost her own mate a couple of years ago and always wanted children of her own. With the amount of money that father still had from mama's family, we inherited the fortune and it was enough that we never had to worry about having any money problems- which was good since Ryoko-san refused to let us get jobs to pay for our own. She insisted that we enjoy being normal kids for once and to just focus on our studies and have fun with our friends.

"The three of us moved to Tokyo to get away from all the bad memories that Chiba held. Living in Tokyo with nii-san and Ryoko-san was amazing and I really enjoyed it. When I was in my first year of middle school, I had presented as an omega. Memories of my father and mama came up and I started to get frequent panic attacks from them. I had already been diagnosed with having an anxiety disorder when I was younger. So when I became older, my anxiety had worsen and that's when I developed my habit for stuttering and shivering uncontrollably. But with the help of nii-san, Ryoko-san and even you Sei, I managed to find some control over my anxiety. I do take medication whenever my anxiety becomes too much though.

"Ryoko-san always had a weak body and easily got sick often. A few months after I presented, Ryoko-san contracted an illness, something like severe pneumonia or something. She was hospitalized for almost two weeks before she finally passed away. By then, nii-san was at the legal age so he immediately signed out all the paperwork to adopt me and to legally become my guardian. Even though we still have money in our funds, nii-san insisted that he work part-time just in case something happens in the future. And like Ryoko-san, he refused to let me work as well. He told me I have to focus and enjoy my high school life to the fullest and he expects me to go to college afterwards. While Ryoko-san was like my second mother, nii-san was also like the father I wished I had. I wouldn't be here right now without nii-san."

Kouki sighed loudly as he cleared his throat. "And I guess that's the end." He concluded lamely, not looking at his silent mate.

Seijuurou held the omega tightly in his arms, shaking with emotions that he couldn't really pinpoint.

He felt horrified. Furious. Disgusted.

Not at his Kouki, absolutely not. Never at his innocent, lovely mate.

He knew that there were parents in this world that shouldn't even have become parents in the beginning, but Kouki's father couldn't even be considered as a human being.

It was a good thing that his mate's father was already dead or else Seijuurou would have slaughtered the animal himself.

When Kouki had spoken about the things that his father had done, Seijuurou wished with all his heart that he could have met his beautiful mate sooner- to somehow go back in time and grab the young, scared omega and just take him away from everything.

But he couldn't go back in time. All he could do now was hold on to his mate and listen as his omega spoke of his cruel past, finally getting it off his chest.

They didn't know exactly how minutes had passed, it could have been hours or even mere seconds, but it didn't matter as Seijuurou and Kouki laid together on the couch, wrapped in each other in the quietness of the dark- the storm had lessened off but the electricity was still out.

Seijuurou cradled his mate even closer to him, his body tensed with mixed emotions, "I love you Kouki." That was the only thing he could say at that moment. Very rarely did Seijuurou find himself speechless.

Kouki blinked back tears, feeling the raw emotions in his alpha's voice. "I love you too, Sei." He answered back, tightening his arms around his alpha.

"I love you so much Kouki." Seijuurou couldn't help it as he kept repeating the words of love, giving his lover small kisses in between.

"I know." Kouki merely held on tighter.

Finally, Kouki shifted in his alpha's arms, burrowing his face into his mate's neck- focusing on the mark he had given his alpha when they had bonded, claiming the alpha as Seijuurou had claimed him- and he quietly spoke up, "I used to hate mama after he died."

Seijuurou had been running his hand into his omega's hair but paused when he heard the confession. "Your mother? Shouldn't it be your father?" He asked confused.

Kouki shook his head. "Ah, I really despise my father. I don't even like to think of that man as my father- he's just a monster to me. But when my mama died, I hated him so much for leaving me and nii-san alone." Kouki paused a bit before he continued. "Even now, I don't really know what mama must have been thinking all those years ago. Did he really understand the situation he was in? Did he really love father despite everything father had done to him? Loved that monster enough that he would give up his own life for him?"

Seijuurou rubbed the brunette's back as he let his boyfriend gather his thoughts. A few minutes passed before Seijuurou said, "I do not know your mother but based on everything you have told me, I think that he most likely just didn't know any better. Like an infant who does things based on instinct rather than intellect. Your mother had depended on your father for so long that he couldn't even imagine living without him. It's a twisted sort of love- a conditioned, unhealthy need."

Kouki listened to his boyfriend's words as he played with one of the buttons on the other's shirt. "When I was young, I used to blame myself for mama's death. For not being good enough for mama to want to stay." Kouki admitted in a soft voice.

Seijuurou immediately sat them both up but kept Kouki firmly in his arms. He looked the other around so that they were directly face to face and growled fiercely, "You have nothing to be blamed for- absolutely nothing was your fault."

The corner of Kouki's smile tilted up into a crooked smile as he leaned forward to give the other a small but reassuring kiss. "Don't worry. I know that now. Mama's suicide was his decision and his decision only." Kouki sighed as he wore a wistful look. "I only wish, even now, that mama didn't die in pain. People say that hanging yourself is very painful- it's sometimes not as instant of a death than what most people would assume. But what I wish the most is that mama didn't give up on us, on his own life. I wished he had stayed with us, even waited just a few more years longer until Nii-san and I grew older, more wiser. We would have saved him from father. I wish...I wish mama chose to live." Kouki's tears finally started to fall, the omega began sobbing softly as he hid his face once more into his boyfriend's chest.

Seijuurou felt his heart turn heavier, probably over scenting his mate as an attempt to reassure his omega, lessen his love's pain and distress. When Kouki's sobs started to quieten again, Seijuurou spoke quietly, " When my mother had passed, I also hated her for a while- only a little. I was so angry that she had left me, left me even though she had promised that she would go out with me to the gardens to play when she got better- but of course, she never did get better. But eventually I realized that I didn't really hate my mother. I was only angry and sad that she was gone." Kissing the crown of his boyfriend's head, Seiuurou said, "That's why I know you don't hate your mother neither. It's only anger and sadness that he's gone. So it's okay to cry for him- because I know you Kouki. You're truly the strongest and bravest person I know and because of that, I know that you probably had bottled up all these feelings for all these years. You have every right to cry for your mother's loss."

"I went to therapy and stuff. But I never truly told my story to anyone- not like I told you. My cover story is that both my parents passed away in an accident. The only one who knows just an inkling of the truth is one of my friends whose also a male omega- the only male omega friend I have." Kouki chuckled a bit. "Though I'm sure if you ask him, he would definitely say we weren't friends. He's kinda tsundere that way."

"What's your friend's name?" Seijuurou asked, curious. Male omegas were very rare and Seijuurou himself had only met two others before his own mate.

Kouki shook his head. "Sorry, but he's unmated and it's not right for me to out his gender- even to you. Everyone knows him as a beta though- just like me before we bonded. But I will say that you do know him. Anyway, all I told him was that my mama committed suicide and my father died in prison. I didn't really get into the gory details." Kouki shrugged.

"How did you know about your parent's history?" Akashi had this question on his mind for a while. He doubted that the omega's parents would have told him.

"I didn't even know anything about how my parents met until child services investigated our family. Me and Nii-san snuck into their offices one day and read all the data they had- we ended up being caught and scolded at, mind you, but I'm still glad I got to know the whole story. It wouldn't do us any good to be kept in the dark- in this case, ignorance wasn't bliss." Kouki confessed.

"I wish I could have a better past. A more normal one, at least." Kouki admitted. "But what's done is done. I can't change my past and I can't travel back in time to save my mama. All I can do now is move on and live the life I have now. And the life I'm living now is pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Just because my past wasn't happy, doesn't mean that my present and future can't be." Kouki smiled, his eyes still red from crying but shining with love as he looked at his alpha, his miracle of a bond mate.

Kouki knew that this wouldn't be the end of this conversation. Most likely, Seijuurou would 'convince' (he'd never force his omega) to go see a therapist, maybe even get him to join in more often on his own alpha's therapy sessions and have the omega talk about himself for a change.

But for now, cuddled up with his amazing alpha on their couch, Kouki decided that he would deal with all of that later.

For now, he would only focus on himself and his bond mate. Their present and their future together.


	8. Chapter 8

## A Forkful of Green Tea Farfalle

"Haaaahhhh...we should eat here more often." Kawahara Koichi sighed happily as he stretched his arms high and breathed in the fresh air and warm sun. It was their lunch break and since the weather was good that day, the trio decided to eat their lunches on top of the school's roof.

Fukuda snorted. "Weren't you the one who did nothing but complain about how hot it was the last time we were here?" He accused, taking a bite of the tamagoyaki his mom had packed in his bento.

"Yeah, you kept whining about how your skin was gonna crisp up like bacon and how we would end up eating you for breakfast the next day." Kouki added, stabbing at a piece of zucchini and eating it. That morning Kouki cooked a quick and easy pasta salad for his lunch.

He boiled some farfalle pasta and set it aside to cool. He then sautéed some zucchini in extra virgin olive oil and added raisins, green tea powder and pistachios. He tossed the ingredients for three minutes and seasoned it with salt and pepper. He added the cooked pasta, some of the pasta water and a handful of fennel leaves. When it was all cooked, Kouki cooled it down before packing it in his bento and adding just a bit more olive oil on top.

"Yeah, and then you started begging us not to eat you since you told us that you probably wouldn't taste good." Fukuda continued.

"And we told you that we wouldn't eat you anyway since our bodies probably wouldn't be able to handle all the fats and cholesterol that's most likely inside you." Kouki finished. Both boys high-fived each other at the scowl their shaved-headed friend gave them.

"Can't you guys just let me enjoy this weather in peace instead of bringing up the past?" Kawahara pouted at them, taking a huge bite of his curry bread.

"Nope." Both Kouki and Fukuda answered, smiling at him widely. All three of them laughed as Kawahara threw one of his chips in their direction.

Anyone who saw them would be surprised if they learned that these three were not childhood friends and in fact had only met about a year ago- when they first entered Seirin High.

They first met because of basketball. After joining the basketball team, the three were always together whenever they practiced or cheered from the benches. The trio was also in the same class as one another. They realized how well they got along so they began hanging around outside of school as well. They went to the arcades and malls, ate at a lot of fast food joints and family restaurants and would frequently sleep over each other's houses.

But what made this group of friends interesting was each of the boys had a different secondary gender.

Kawahara was an alpha, Fukuda was a beta and Kouki was one of the rare male omegas. Of course, Kawahara and Fukuda didn't know that Kouki was an omega since his scent always came off as another beta like Fukuda.

When Kouki had bonded with his mate and decided to let his omega status be known, his two best friends were one of the first people who he had told.

Fukuda was always the calm one amongst them but Kouki was still surprised when the beta only nodded and accepted his news like it was nothing new to him ("I kinda figured there was something up whenever you would disappear for a week every three months. It was too much of a coincidence.")

Kawahara on the other hand, the more dramatic in the group, didn't believe Kouki at first and just laughed at how unfunny his joke was. But when Kouki released his true scent (he didn't take suppressants anymore but wore a scent blocker patch that was more weak and temporary than his pills) Kawahara's laughter died down and he just stared at his friend in shock.

When Kouki told them that he had bonded with an alpha and that said alpha was Akashi Seijuurou, Fukuda WAS surprised about that. Not the alpha part since he could easily smell the scent of bonded omega on his friend- he was more surprised that his friend had bonded with the heir of the Akashi company.

The two friends knew that Kouki had somehow become friends with the emperor (for weeks they could smell the strong scent all over their friend and knew about the Tokyo-Kyoto visits) but they never imagined that there would be a deeper meaning to their friend's relationship to the Rakuzan captain.

"I can't accept this!" Kawahara refused.

Kouki frowned. "You can't accept that I'm an omega?"

"Not that!" Kawahara shouted. "I think it's cool that you're an omega- it makes our trio even more awesome than it already is! Now we have one alpha, one beta and one omega each- we're gonna be so popular!" The shaved head alpha shook his head. "But what I can't accept is that not only are you dating, but you're freaking bonded to the Evil Emperor!"

Kouki glared at his friend. "Don't call Sei that."

Kawahara's eyes pretty much bugged out of his head at that. "'Sei'?! So that's what you call him? What the hell happened since the winter cup- he used to make you pass out from his mere presence alone!!!"

The omega looked sheepish at that. "Well, yeah. But he's different now and He's not scary at all anymore."

"He's the E-V-I-L E-M-P-E-R-O-R!" The alpha pretty much stretched out the last words to get his point across.

"He's not evil!" Kouki snapped. "So what- just because I'm bonded with Sei now, that means you don't want to be friends?"

Kawahara looked as if he had been slapped. "Of course not! What kind of despicable person would I be if I stop being friends with someone just because of who they date- or have bonded with?" Kawahara sighed as he stood up and pointed his finger at the brunette. "Bring your mate here so we can meet properly!"

Kouki looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

Kawahara stood back, crossing his arms. "Bring the evil emperor along this weekend to the mall. Fukuda and I need to interrogate him and make sure he hasn't placed voodoo magic or has hung up a debt on you. And if he truly is serious about being your bond mate, the least he can do is ask for our permission first." Kawahara made a sour face as he shuddered. "Sheesh. Going to the mall with Akashi Seijuurou. Eating at the food court, window shopping, playing at the arcade....God, what has this world become to?"

As Kawahara continued his ranting, Kouki's other friend, Fukuda sat next to the omega and gave him an encouraging pat on the knee. "Don't mind, Kawahara- you know how much of a drama queen he can be."

Kouki sighed. "Yeah. I know." He looked at Fukuda with an unsure look. "So are you okay with me being with Sei or with you also going to freak out on me like baldy there?"

Fukuda looked at him sheepishly. "I'm also a bit skeptical about this relationship. But it's not because I hate Akashi or anything. It's just...a lot to take in, you know. One day, we thought you were a beta who had almost a phobia of Akashi. And then suddenly today we find out that not only are you a rare male omega but you're bonded with someone who we thought you disliked. Can you blame us for being worried about you?"

Kouki pouted but shook his head. "No. But Sei really is different now. He's much more kinder and sweet- he's truly a nice guy and I really love him!" He knew that he sounded like a teenage girl at that moment, but Kouki didn't care.

Fukuda smiled as he ruffled the other's hair affectionately. "I don't doubt how much you love him. Look, I know how cautious you can be so I know that it's not like you just jumped headfirst into being with Akashi without thinking about it first. I trust in your decisions and that is the only reason why I'm not worried about you being blackmailed into this or something.

"And I was there at Kuroko's party as well, remember? I saw that how much Akashi changed compared to how he was during the Winter Cup. So I truly have nothing against the guy. But I would like to meet Akashi formally- it would make me feel better if I can confirm what Akashi's true feelings for you are. And it would shut him up as well." The beta rolled his eyes as he looked pointedly at their still despairing alpha friend.

Kouki smiled and he gave Fukuda a big hug. "Thank you so much, Fukuda! I'll definitely bring Sei this Saturday." Moving away, Kouki turned to stare at Kawahara. "So how long do you think he'll keep that up?" The alpha was still pacing back and forth across the room, ranting about the evil emperor and brainwashing.

Fukuda turned to look at their friend also. "Quite a while, I think." The beta then reached over to take something out of the alpha's bag. "In the meantime, wanna play his game and see how long it takes for him to notice and yell at us?"

Kouki grinned and nodded.

When Saturday came, the friends met up at the mall, Kouki with Seijuurou in tow. At first, the group was really awkward, not really knowing what to say. Then Fukuda, bless his soul, suggested that they go play some games at the arcade.

It ended up being a wonderful idea. Kouki found out that it was Seijuurou's first time at an arcade and despite what people would assume, the heir didn't automatically do well at the games at first.

At the beginning, Seijuurou always ended up being eaten by brain-eating zombies in the shooting games. Kawahara even managed to beat him once- which the shaved-head alpha immediately cheered and hooted about beating the evil emperor at something. The only good thing about Seijuurou losing was that Kawahara was finally warming up to him.

The more games they played, Seijuurou slowly got better at them and soon got the high scores on the games. The only games the redhead had been excellent at from the start was the basketball shooting game (of course) and surprisingly the dancing game (Kouki was blushing a lot but he really enjoyed watching his mate dance and beat Kawahara, finally shutting the gloating baldy up).

When they got tired, they decided to take their lunch at the food court upstairs. When Kouki excused himself to the restroom, that's when Kawahara and Fukuda began interrogating the redhead.

But Seijuurou managed to handle their questions and Kawahara's threats well. When they asked the redhead what his intentions with Kouki were, the alpha answered, "There is no other person alive or dead who is in love with Kouki as much as I am. I know that you are worried about your friend and I'm relieved that my omega has people like you two that care this much. I plan to propose marriage to Kouki in the future and hopefully Kouki will accept. We would live together in a well-built house with our children playing in the gardens. I can only hope that our future together will be just, if not more, amazing than it already is now. Because whenever I'm with Kouki, the possibilities to what we can achieve together is limitless." Akashi scooted back in his chair a bit before bowing his head to the wide-eyed two. "I humbly ask for your approval in dating Kouki. Your favor would mean a lot to both Kouki and myself."

Fukuda blinked for a few seconds before giving his approval. Honestly, the redhead had already had his approval when he saw how happy and in love Kouki was when they watched Akashi and Kawahara having a dance off.

Kawahara gave Akashi a hard look before asking if Fukuda and him would be on the top of the list for their future kid's godparents. When Akashi said yes, Kawahara immediately smiled and gave his approval. (But deep down, Kawahara had already approved of the redhead when Kouki and Akashi had first walked into the mall, hand-in-hand. Never had the shaved-head alpha ever seen his friend so happy before- Kawahara couldn't help but be a bit jealous).

When the pair was satisfied that the heir truly did love their Furi and was very serious about the relationship, they gladly gave him their approval- which they also informed Kouki of when he came back to their table.

With the atmosphere relaxed they all went to watch an animated movie (Kawahara refused to watch a romantic-comedy with a couple amongst them) before finally going home. Seijuurou got his friends' approval and Kouki was feeling like he was floating on cloud nine.

"Yo, Furi! You planning on eating the rest of that?" Kawahara pointed to the brunette's leftover pasta.

Kouki shook his head. "I made too much- you can have it."

Kawahara cheered as he took the bento and bit into some of the pasta. "Mm...you're like the only person I can think of who would put green tea in pasta and make it taste good." The alpha groaned as he gobbled down the rest of the food (he usually brought food from the cafeteria so he loved it when one of his friends would share their bentos with him).

"Whoa, calm down before you'll end up choking." Fukuda warned, sitting away from the hungry alpha.

"Do you guys want one?" Kouki offered, holding up a green tea candy as he was sucking on one in his mouth. He had finished his lunch and now was having dessert.

"Sure, throw one here." Kawahara mumbled, fennel in his mouth, as he held up his hand to catch the candy.

Fukuda only rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Furi? I shudder to think about how much cavities you have in your mouth based on the amount of candies you consume." He shook his head.

"I have no cavities!" Kouki yelled.

Kawahara snorted. "Yeah, I mean there's no way Akashi would ever make out with you if half your teeth was black and falling out." He winked at his omega friend.

Kouki made a face at him. "Ha, ha. Hilarious. Just for that, no candy for either of you anymore."

"Hey! I'm not the one who said you had cavities." Kawahara cried.

"Anyway, I'm getting bored. Let's talk about something else." Kawahara leaned back as he looked up at the blue, clear sky. "Ah! Let's talk about your love life Furi!"

The brunette frowned. "No."

Kawahara made a noise. "You're the only one out of us who has a lover- you shouldn't be so selfish and should share the love with us!"

Kouki raised an eyebrow at him. "So you want to hear stories about me and Sei having sex?"

Kawahara gave him a grave look. "I've been girlfriend-less for so long that I'll take anything at this point."

Kouki rolled his eyes. "I'm not telling you anything."

"Selfish!"

"Actually Furi, I've always been curious about something." Fukuda cut in. "Does the generation of miracles know that you're bonded to their leader?"

Kouki sucked on his candy more as he nodded. "Yup. They know. Sei told them about our relationship about a week after our bonding- they met up at the courts to play basketball and Sei pretty much announced it there."

"How did they take it?" Kawahara asked, looking interested.

Kouki shrugged. "Sei said they were shocked but otherwise accepted it. Only Kuroko wasn't surprised since he already knew- I told him beforehand and I'd talk with him about Sei sometimes."

"Ah, you guys are part of the library committee, right?" Kawahara remembered.

Kouki nodded. "Yeah. Kuroko's pretty quiet most times but he's fun to talk to about books and stuff."

"You're pretty close to Kuroko." Fukuda commented.

"Kuroko's a fun guy once you get to know him." Kouki admitted. Having the same love for basketball and books, Kouki quickly became friends with the phantom player. Yes, he still jumped whenever the blunette would spontaneously sneak up on him, but otherwise Kouki considered him one of his close friends.

"What about the other miracles?" Fukuda asked.

"Ah! Better yet, you've probably gotten to meet up with them and get to know them better right? They're pretty intimidating to be honest" Kawahara asked, chewing on one of his carrots.

"But I'm sure that Akashi's friends in general are okay people, right?" Fukuda asked, drinking down the last of his iced tea.

"They are. Even though they're intimidating at first, once you get to know them, you realize that they're just high school students like us. They like eating fast food and playing games too." Kouki assured them, smiling.

"All I can conclude from your stories about them is that the miracles are a bunch of lunatics. Including your 'Evil emperor'". Kawahara sighed as he stood up to stretch out his legs.

Kouki gave him a weary look. "Yeah, but we're not that sane either." He pointed out.

Kawahara gave Kouki a wide grin with a cheeky wink. "Never said we weren't."

Fukuda also stood up and grabbed his trash, "Guys, we should get back to class- I think I heard the bell ring about ten minutes ago."

Kouki and Kawahara both froze at that, giving their friend a look of horror and disbelief since there next class was geography and that teacher was very strict with attendance. Seconds later, they were all high tailing it back to class, yelling at their beta friend that he should have said something sooner.


	9. Chapter 9

## An Offering Of Green Tea Buns

_Twelve year-old Akashi Masaomi blinked slowly once._

_And then twice._

_After the third blink, he knew that he wasn't just imagining things._

_Before his fourth blink, he just had to open his mouth and ask, "Excuse me miss, but why are you hanging upside down from that tree?"_

_The tiny girl, who looked no older than eight, only giggled at him and told him that the view looked much better from that position._

_There was something about her thick red hair that tumbled from her head and her sparkling red eyes that glittered laughter and joy that kept him mesmerized._

_And this was Akashi Masaomi's first ever encounter with his Shiori._

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

The grave of Akashi Shiori was located inside a private shrine, near the Akashi Mansion in Tokyo.

Her tombstone was made of high-quality marble, surrounded by a wide array of flowers and incense candles around. It was cleaned and cared for daily by the priest so even though twelve years had already gone by, her grave still looked as if it were brand new.

And in the center of it all was a picture of Shiori herself- mischievous eyes twinkling, laughing carefree with her long red hair blowing gently in the wind.

Masaomi gently placed down the bouquet of red roses and pink wild flowers onto his late wife's grave.

Lighting up some of the incense, Masaomi stood back and took in a deep breath.

No matter how many years have passed, the heavy feeling in his chest would never truly disappear.

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

" _Masa-chan! Knock knock!"_

_Masaomi jumped in his chair and swerved around to see Shiori standing outside his window, smiling at him as she gently tapped the glass again._

_"Are you crazy, woman?! We're on the second floor!" Masaomi hissed, rushing to the window to let the girl in._

_The omega waved him off, refusing to go inside. "I have something to show you! Come on!"_

_The older alpha gave his ridiculous but closest friend an incredulous look. "Are you mad? It's one in the morning."_

_Shiori gave him a sassy look, placing her hands on her hips (and giving Masaomi a near heart attack as the girl was literally balancing herself on top of a tree branch). "That's right, it's one in the morning and here I find you studying. Ugh. Anyway, I have something much better that you could be doing so let's go!"_

_Masaomi shook his head. "You're crazy. You expect me to join you to some unknown place in the middle of the night?"_

_The girl grinned at him. "Yup. And I also expect you to use this tree route as well- you'll definitely get caught if you use the front door. Now we're running out of time so let's go before we miss it!"_

_Being the fool that he was, Masaomi did indeed give in to his silly friend's whims and followed her._

_As they came into a wide but empty field of wild flowers, Masaomi looked around dubiously. "Okay, now what is it that you wanted to show me?"_

_Shiori twirled around a few times before landing- arms and legs wide open- onto the grass below. Pointing above, she cried out, "Look up and wait, Masa-chan! It should be starting soon."_

_Sighing, Masaomi took a seat next to the girl and looked up at the sky. He knew it would be best for him to just quietly do whatever his friend wanted and avoid any further annoyances._

_After five minutes of nothing happening, Masaomi was about to say something before something bright caught his eye._

_Jaw dropping in surprise and awe, Masaomi watched as the sky above suddenly erupted with dozens of shooting stars._

_Shiori giggled as the young pair watched the sparkling stars racing across the sky, glittering the night in brightness and wonder._

_"Hurry, Masa-chan! Quietly make a wish and it'll definitely come true!" Shiori urged before closing her eyes as she made her own wish._

_Masaomi looked at his best friend for a moment before redirecting his gaze back at the shining sky._

**_'I wish for this woman beside me to be become mine one day.'_ **

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Looking at the portrait of his smiling Shiori, Masaomi felt a small smile grace his lips.

"Hello Shiori. I hope you are doing well. Though I have no doubt that you are surely making mischief and spreading your love wherever you are right now." The older alpha chuckled a bit as he could easily imagine his late wife reprimanding him for the mischief comment.

"Seijuurou and I have been getting closer and are truly becoming the family you have always hoped for us to be. We are finally talking more with one another and Seijuurou has been making vast improvements concerning his mental health. So do not fret anymore, my dear. We are both doing well and are truly happy." Masaomi smiled, feeling truly joyful at finally being close with his beloved son.

Grinning, Masaomi added, "And listen to this, my love- our son has found himself a bond mate. A male omega named Furihata Kouki." Chuckling as he knew that his wife would most likely be squealing with excitement at this, he continued. "And I must say, Kouki-kun is quite an endearing young man and reminds me of you, love. He is almost just as extraordinary as you."

Giving a small smile, Masaomi said, "Of course, no one can ever truly beat you, my dear..."

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

" _Shiori, we've been together for a long time now but I think it would be in both of our best interests if we were to separate and see other people." Masaomi felt his heart shatter slowly, every shard piercing through his body as the words that he loathed to say streamed out of his mouth. Even as he felt his chest aching, he kept his face and body composed._

_"No." That was the only reply Shiori gave as she took a sip of her strawberry milkshake._

_Masaomi froze at that. "No?"_

_"No." Shiori repeated, giving him a bright smile. "I refuse to break up with you. Now you should really try the french fries here, Masa-chan. They're so crispy and seasoned just right!"_

_Masaomi shook his head, frowning at his (not yet ex) girlfriend. "You can't just refuse to break up."_

_Still smiling, Shiori said, "Of course I can. I don't want to break up with you because I'm in love with you. And I know that you don't really want to break up with me because you're in love with me too. And since we're two people madly in love with each other, then we shouldn't break up. Simple, see?"_

_The alpha just gave her a look of disbelief. "Shiori, it's not just as simple as-"_

_"Masaomi." The older male stopped at the serious look on the omega's face. His (not yet ex) girlfriend was known for her happy and playful persona. Rarely did she show her serious side. "I overheard what your parents told you yesterday. I know that they disapprove of someone like me- a girl with no money and no high family profile to her name. But what I do have is my winning personality and my drive to succeed in whatever I want to do, no matter what. And one of the things I want to do is to stay side by side with the person who I have loved all these years and with every fiber of my being. So if I have to fight against your parents or whoever else for that love, then I will gladly do so."_

_Grinning at the shocked look on her (never going to be ex) boyfriend's face, Shiori grabbed one of the French fries and brought it to the alpha's lips to try._

_One week later, Masaomi and Shiori were officially engaged._

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Father." Masaomi smiled as he watched his son walking towards him, a large bouquet of white lilies and orchids in his hand.

Gently placing his bouquet next to his father's, Seijuurou gave his mother's grave a deep bow. "Hello, Mother. It's good to see that you are doing well." Straightening up, the young redhead gazed at his mother's portrait, giving a smile as he looked at Shiori's happy expression. "Mother looks beautiful as always."

Masaomi gave a proud smile as he nodded. "Of course, I married her after all."

Seijuurou chuckled as he went to give his father a small hug. "It's good to see you as well father. I'm assuming your business trip to Shanghai went well?"

The older man rolled his eyes as he gave his son an affectionate pat on the back. "It went as well as it ever does. Chung Siu Lin-san had me try their century year old egg." He shuddered at the memory. "I cannot wait until you finally graduate so I can send you instead on these business excursions."

Seijuurou grinned, "I don't mind since I'll be bringing Kouki with me as well. I'm sure he would love to try the many Chinese delicacies."

Masaomi chuckled. "I'm sure he would. Speaking of, where is Kouki-kun? I did invite him to join us as well." The older alpha frowned when he noticed the brunette's absence.

"Kouki informed me that he had an errand to do first before coming. He told me to come before him and that he'll follow soon after." Seijuurou assured him.

Masaomi nodded and both son and father were quiet for a moment as they looked back at the grave before them.

Looking at his mother's portrait, Seijuurou said in a soft voice. "I really do miss her."

Reaching out to gently squeeze his son's shoulder, Masaomi said, "I as well. And I have no doubt that your mother wishes that she could still be here with us. Especially with you, Seijuurou, since you were her most beloved treasure."

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

" _Masa-chan, come give me your hand."_

_Masaomi raised an eyebrow as his wife giggled, looking at him with wide sparkling eyes. Not questioning her usual silly antics, he placed his large hand into her slender one and watched as she gently placed his palm ontop her rounded belly._

_"Shiori, exactly what is it that I'm waiting for?" The alpha asked, looking at his omega wife with a confused look after a minute of nothing happening._

_Shiori giggled again as she made a shushing sound. "Hush, Masa-chan! Just wait!" Masaomi sighed but did as was told._

_After a few more seconds, Masaomi's eyes widened as he felt a short but strong kick underneath his palm. Looking at his wife with uncharacteristically shocked eyes, he asked, "Was that-?"_

_Shiori laughed as she nodded her head. "Yup! That was our Seijuurou's first hello to us. Amazing, isn't it?"_

_Masaomi blinked once at her. "Seijuurou?"_

_Shiori grinned as she gave a firm nod. "Seijuurou."_

_Masaomi sighed but his lips held a small smile on them. "Seijuurou it is then."_

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"I'm sure mother misses you too, father." Seijuurou reassured the older man.

Masaomi nearly snorted but rolled his eyes instead. "Of course she does. I was the love of her life after all. She always trailed after me like a lost puppy. At first, I thought her to be nothing but a nuisance honestly."

Seijuurou raised an eyebrow. "Really? Based on what mother used to tell me when I was younger, she says that you were the one who was always going after her. Wherever she would run off to, you would always follow."

Masaomi did snort this time. "I only followed her so she wouldn't get herself into trouble like she usually did."

His son merely looked amused at him. "But you still went after her, correct? So what mother said was true in the end?"

Masaomi gifted him with a haughty look. "What she told were lies. All lies. Your mother could be quite the storyteller when she wanted to be."

Seijuurou grinned. "Whatever you say, father. Anyway, I remember the stories that mother would tell me in the garden or at bedtime. She had such a vast collection of stories and a wild imagination."

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

" _Shh...oh, Seijuurou. Why are you crying so late at night?" Shiori hushed, coming into the room to gather her sobbing son into her arms._

_Inside his mother's warm embrace, young Seijuurou's cries slowly lessened until he was left with only sniffling. Blowing his nose into the handkerchief his mother held up for him, Seijuurou snuggled closer to her._

_"Now dear, tell mama what is bothering you." Shiori gently asked her son, combing his red hair away from his sweaty forehead with her fingers._

_"I had a bad dweam." Seijuurou mumbled, rubbing his face into his mother's shoulder and he held onto her tightly._

_"Aw, my poor baby. Wanna tell mama all about it?" She cooed at her son._

_Her baby boy looked at her with wide red eyes, still shiny with tears, and the sight made Shiori nearly squeal at the cuteness. "The mwonsta unda da bed came out to eat me. I scared."_

_Shiori smiled as she gave his back a soothing rub. "Oh honey, didn't mama tell you that daddy already caught the monster and sent him away?"_

_The young boy pouted as he shook his head. "Dat was the mwonsta in da cwoset. Dis mwonsta is dwiffent and is unda my bed now." He insisted._

_Shiori sighed, smiling at him gently. "Why doesn't mama check under the bed to see if there really is a monster under there?"_

_The young redhead immediately cried out as he reached to hug his mother tightly. "NO! I no want dat! Don't want mwonsta to get to mama! Mama stay here!"_

_Shiori immediately began to soothe her once again crying son, promising the young boy that she wouldn't check under the bed. "Okay honey, please calm down. Mama is fine and I'm right here."_

_Seijuurou sobbed for a few more minutes before quieting down again. "Papa can get mwonsta in da mowning." He told her._

_Shiori giggled. "So it's okay for the monster to possibly get your father but not me?"_

_The little boy gave he a serious nod. "Uh-huh! Mama don't go. Stay wit Seijuwo."_

_His mother cooed at her adorable baby son. "Okay honey. Mama will stay here with you as you go back to sleep."_

_Seijuurou gave her a stubborn pout. "Dun wanna sleep."_

_Shiori gave him a stern look. "Seijuurou, it's late and sleep will help you become big and strong. Now, would you like to hear a story to help you go sleep?" She asked._

_Seijuurou gave a toothy smile as he nodded his head._

_Tucking her little boy into bed, Shiori laid besides him and quietly started her bedtime story._

_"Once upon a time, in an old faraway village lived a boy named Momotaro..."_

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

The older alpha narrowed his gaze at his son. "So you would be fine if the monster killed me instead of your mother?"

Seijuurou merely responded with an innocent smile. "Kill is such a harsh word, father. And further more, I had every faith that you would have come out victorious."

As the father and son spent the next few minutes bantering back and forth, they both paused at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Sei! Masaomi-papa!" Both father and son turned to see a familiar brunette waving at them with a large smile on his face, his other arm carrying a flat white box.

Seijuurou smiled widely at the sight of his mate. "Kouki, you made it." He gave the other a small kiss before leaning away.

"It's good to see you again, Kouki-kun." Masaomi nodded at him, giving him a warm smile.

Kouki grinned as he made his way to give the older Akashi man a tight hug before going back to his boyfriend, letting the alpha wrap an arm around his waist. "I'm sorry I'm late- I had to do something first before coming here. I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Masaomi shook his head. "Of course not, Kouki-kun. There's no need for apologies."

Seijuurou gestured towards the grave before as them as he said, "Since you are here now, I would like to introduce you to someone very dear to father and I." Kouki turned towards the grave and his eyes widened. "Mother, I would like to proudly introduce to you my bond mate and the love of my life, Furihata Kouki. Kouki, this is my beloved mother, Akashi Shiori."

Kouki quickly bowed down deeply as he replied, "Y-yes! It's nice to meet you, Shiori-san! My name is Furihata Kouki and I love your son very much and I ask for your approval and future guidance!"

Masaomi chuckled at his soon-to-be son-in-law's antics. "Kouki-kun, I must warn you that my wife would be highly insulted if you called me 'Masaomi-papa' while addressing her as only 'Shiori-san'."

Kouki gasped as he bowed down repeatedly to the grave again. "Ah! Forgive me! I hope you'll allow me to call you, 'Shiori-mama' then."

Seijuurou grinned as he cuddled his mate to his side. "I'm sure mother would love that, Kouki."

Kouki grinned sheepishly at that, looking back to closely observe the portrait in front of him.

He had seen a few pictures of his mate's mother back at the mansions, but this picture of the young woman seemed to show off her bright and carefree personality. "Wow, Shiori-mama is really beautiful. You take after her in looks, Sei. You have your mother's hair, eyes and face shape. And you have Masaomi-papa's nose!"

Both father and son choked at that. "My/His nose?"

Kouki giggled at the expressions on their faces. "Well, Sei got most of his mother's looks. But I think he inherited most of his mannerisms from you, Masaomi-papa."

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

" _Seijuurou, I found you." Shiori sang out, watching her disgruntled son curl up into himself as he tried to hide under one of the garden tables._

_"Go away." The young boy grumbled, hiding his face into his knees._

_"I can't understand a thing that you are saying with your face hidden away like that. So I'm just going to have to come closer so I can hear you better." Shiori told him, joining her son under the table._

_"Hmph." Other than that, Seijuurou kept quiet and ignored his mother._

_Shiori sighed and she gently reached out to brush lightly at her son's red locks. "Did you get into another argument with your father again?"_

_Seijuurou glared as he looked at her. "I hate father." He mumbled._

_Shiori raised an eyebrow at him. "May I ask why you hate your father, dear?"_

_The young boy frowned as he said, "I don't want to play piano. It's boring. I wanna quit but father said no."_

_His mother sighed as she opened her arms for her son to go into. "My goodness, seeing you frown like this makes you look so much like your father." She smiled fondly as she watched her son frown harder at her words._

_"I don't want to be like him." He growled._   
  
_Shiori only kept smiling. "Why do you not like the piano? From what I can hear, you have quite the talent for it."_

_Seijuurou shook his head. "I don't like playing it. I want to play the violin more."_

_Shiori smiled widened at that. "Oh, violin? I think that would be a brilliant idea. Did you explain to your father that the reason you want to stop piano lessons is because you're interested in learning to play the violin instead?"_

_The young heir frowned, looking down. "No...but father wouldn't listen anyway."_

_The young woman gave her son a sad smile before getting up, pulling her son up along with her. "Goodness, you both are truly father and son. You both have trouble saying just exactly how you feel. Come Seijuurou, let's tell father that you want to learn the violin. I'm sure he'll understand this time and I'll be there to support you as well."_

_Her son looked unsure but allowed his mother to lead him into the mansion. "Do you think he'll really listen?"_

_Shiori nodded at him. "Definitely."_

_Seijuurou looked thoughtful before nodding his head. "Okay. And you'll be there too so you can soften him up. Maybe I can also ask for that horse I saw at the ranch for my birthday as well- I wanna call him Yukimaru!" The young boy looked excited at this._

_Shiori laughed as she shook her head at her sweet son. "Maybe we should just ask for the violin lessons first, Seijuurou. The horse can come later."_

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Wow, she's very beautiful." Kouki complimented, smiling at the both of them.

"She's the most beautiful woman in the world- everyone looked at us in envy whenever we walked together." Masaomi said proudly.

Seijuurou looked down, curious at the box in his mate's hands. "Kouki, may I ask what this is?"

Kouki blushed shyly as he opened the box, revealing a dozen light green buns with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. "The reason I was late was because I was making these."

The young redhead felt his chest tighten at the sight of the buns. "You remembered?"

Kouki gave him a bashful smile as he nodded. "Yeah. When you told me about your mother's favorite food being steam buns, I decided to bake some of my own special green tea steamed buns with red bean filling and offer them to her. Hopefully that's okay?" He looked at them with searching eyes.

Masaomi looked at the brunette with a soft expression as he nodded. "She would have loved to taste them, Kouki-kun. Thank you."

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

" _You were so amazing out there, Seijuurou!"_

_The young boy grinned widely at his mother's cheering. His team had just won the basketball match and the young boy was even more happier at the fact that this was the first match that his mother had ever watched him play._

_"Did you enjoy it, mother?" Seijuurou asked, letting his mother wipe away the sweat that was dripping down his face._

_Shiori giggled as she nodded her head enthusiastically. "It looked like so much fun! And that winning shot you made- the ball made a swoosh sound when it went inside the net! It was incredible!" She gushed._

_Seijuurou blushed at the compliments but he was still very happy. Both mother and son sat on the bleachers, watching the girl's basketball team begin their match._

_Feeling a nudge from his mother, Seijuurou looked to see his mother holding up a small container with two large steam buns inside. "A prize for your win, Seijuurou." Shiori smiled warmly at her son as she offered her most favorite food._

_The young boy whooped in the air and asked what kind of buns they were. "The white one is a char siu steam bun and the other is a special purple bean filled steam bun." His mother told him._

_Seijuurou took the char siu one and took a huge bite out of it. Moaning at the burst of pork exploding in his mouth, the young alpha smiled happily at his mother._

_Shiori grinned back at him as she bit into her own bun. When they were both finished, Shiori gave her son another big hug as she whispered quietly into his ear, "Congratulations again on your win, dear. Whether it's in basketball or violin or your grades or just about anything you do, I'm just so very proud of you, Seijuurou. Always remember that."_

_The redheaded boy flushed a bit as his mother's praises but was still beaming brightly at her. "I love you, mother."_

_Shiori teared up a bit but chuckled lightly as she gave her son a light kiss on the forehead. "And I love you too, my Seijuurou. Forever and always."_

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Ow!" Seijuurou frowned at his mate, who just stuck out his tongue in return. The redhead had been about to take one of the steam buns to taste, but the omega had slammed the lid of the box (lightly) on his fingers to stop him.

"These are for Shiori-mama. The buns I made for you and Masaomi-papa are in the kitchen." Kouki scolded. Turning to the older alpha, he asked, "Masaomi-papa, you did say that we would be having lunch in the garden, right?"

Masaomi, who had been grinning at his son's scolding, nodded to the brunette. "Yes. I have a nice meal prepared for the three of us and I'm sure your steam buns would make a lovely dessert. We can accompany it with some of the tea I was gifted with in Shanghai." He added.

Kouki beamed as he went to place his box of buns in front of the grave. Stepping back, Kouki blushed a bright red when his stomach make an audible growl.

Hearing the sound, Seijuurou chuckled as he brought his mate closer in an embrace and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "I guess I'm not the only one that's feeling a bit famished right now. Shall we go and have that lunch that father has prepared?"

Still blushing, Kouki nodded his head. "Yes please." He and Seijuurou faced Shiori's grave to give her their farewells and promises to visit her again soon.

Masaomi also chuckled he faced his wife's grave once more and gave her a deep bow. "Well, we'll be off, my dear. We will surely visit you again soon. Until next time, my love." He smiled gently at his wife's smiling portrait one more time before leading his son and soon-to-be son-in-law to the garden for lunch.

As they exited the gate, Kouki gasped, making the other two pause and look back at him in concern. "Oh no! I think I dropped my wallet back there. I'm just gonna go real quick and be right back so please wait here."

Rushing back, Kouki sighed in relief as he spotted his wallet lying on the ground near the grave. Making sure it was left untouched, Kouki turned to leave before freezing, slowly turning his head to look at something that caught his eye.

The lid on the box of steam buns that he left were wide open.

Reaching to close the box, Kouki's eyes widened as he realized that one bun was missing. Checking to see if there was anyone nearby who could have stolen it, he saw that he was the only one present.

Looking down at the now eleven steam buns inside the box, Kouki shivered as he quickly closed the lid.

The omega looked up and saw Shiori's portrait. For some reason, the brunette felt as if it looked much more brighter to him than normal.

Sighing, Kouki gave the portrait an understanding smile before bowing down very deeply.

"I hope you'll enjoy the steam buns, Shiori-mama. And don't worry, I'll make sure to take good care Sei and Masaomi-papa and I will do my best to keep them happy and healthy for a very long time. I already consider them as my family. Speaking of family, I'll bring my older brother Kouta here to visit sometime- I'm sure he would love to meet you too! I love them all so very much. So please just leave them to me from now on."

When a strong wind blew off a few of the flower petals from the trees above, twirling around the omega in what looked like an intricate dance, Kouki knew he got his reply.

Beaming, Kouki gave one last bow before hurrying away to catch up with Seijuurou and Masaomi.


	10. Chapter 10

## A Bar Of Green Tea Granola

"Ugh...." Kouki groaned, a sharp cramp coursing through his body. It was after school and he was at the gym for basketball practice. The omega was about to make a basket before he got hit by that cramp, making him drop the ball and wrap his arms around his stomach instead.

"Furi, what's wrong?" Fukuda asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend when he noticed the other drop the ball and the pained expression on his face.

Kouki opened his mouth to say something, but ended up whimpering instead, closing his eyes shut when another cramp hit him. Taking deep breaths, the brunette froze when he felt a familiar wetness start to slip out of him and into his underwear, arousal starting to stir in his belly.

Oh no.

"What's that smell?" Koganei questioned, pausing in taking a shot and sniffing the air.

Kouki quickly opened his eyes, frantically thinking about what to do.

His heat had come too early. He had expected it to come sometime next week and had already gained permission from the school and coach about his absence. And Seijuurou had also gotten the week off as they had both planned to prepare for the omega's heat that coming weekend.

Kouki's heats had always been somewhat inconsistent- sometimes a few days off the intended schedule. But never had Kouki ever been hit by a heat...in the middle of practice....a practice in a gym filled with only alphas and betas.

Shit.

"Furihata-kun?" Kuroko questioned, walking towards the omega. Kouki swung around and the bluenette froze at the panicked and scared look on the other's face.

"What is going on here-" Coach Riko noticed some of her players acting strange and decided to see what was going on. But when she got close, she was suddenly hit by a strong scent and her eyes widened as it clicked in her mind what was going on.

Riko quickly blew into her pink whistle, making all the players in the gym to stop what they were doing and look towards her. Grabbing their attention, Riko quickly shouted out orders, "ALL ALPHAS EXIT THE GYM NOW AND GUARD ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS! KUROKO AND FUKUDA BRING FURI INTO THE EQUIPMENT ROOM AND SHUT THE DOOR- ITS TOO DANGEROUS TO BRING HIM OUTSIDE THE GYM! ALL BETAS STAY IN THE GYM AND GUARD ALL THE DOORS AND WINDOWS FROM THE INSIDE! ACTIONS NOW, QUESTIONS LATER- NOW GO!"

In a split second everyone moved, following their coach's orders quickly and with no questions asked. Kuroko and Fukuda immediately ran towards Kouki, both stumbling for a second when they were hit by the omega's strong scent and they automatically understood what was happening.

Holding their breaths, they took Kouki by each arm and quickly helped the other into their equipment room. Making sure the omega was in a comfortable position on the floor, they left the room and shut the door behind them. They then stood in front of the door, their bodies taking up a protective stance.

"OI! Kuroko, Fukuda what the heck is going on?" Hyuuga's gruff voice, but held a concern tone in it, barked at them. The captain was guarding the back doors with the rest of the betas taking up the front entrance and windows.

All the beta's jaws dropped in horror as Kuroko and Fukuda explained the situation to them.

"Coach, what the hell's going on?" Kagami demanded, leaning against the closed door, raising an eyebrow at their only woman. All the alphas (Kagami, Kawahara, Kiyoshi, Tsuchida, three of the first years and Riko) were now outside of the gym.

"Furi's gone into heat." Riko informed them before sticking her head inside one of the windows and giving orders to the betas in the gym before shutting the window with a loud smack.

All the alpha's eyes widened in horror. "What?!"

Riko gave them a stern look. "Yes. Kiyoshi, I need you to get and inform the teachers and the school nurse." After Kiyoshi left to get help, Riko turned towards the rest of them. "Someone needs to call Furi's house so his brother can get him-"

Kawahara interrupted. "Furi's been planning on staying over at Akashi's- they've been planning his heat for next week."

Riko nodded. "Right. Furi did inform me but obviously his heat hit earlier than expected." Riko quickly went towards one of the windows and opened it slightly, yelling something before hearing what seemed to be Kuroko's voice as he replied. "Okay, good! Make sure everyone's guard's are up!" She yelled before slamming the window closed again.

"What's that about?" Kagami questioned.

Riko explained. "I got Kuroko to call Akashi to inform him about Furi's heat. Kuroko said that he already called and Akashi's now on his way to Tokyo and has sent some of his staff to pick up Furi to bring to his house. They should arrive soon." Kagami nodded in understanding.

Riko sighed. "Now, since we don't have a heat room to put Furihata in, we have to make sure all the doors and windows are covered just in case a passerby just happens to walk by and catch his scent. If any of you can't handle the smell, immediately leave and come here and tell me. Now, Kagami and Kiyoshi when he comes back will take up the back doors to the gym. I'll be-"

"What's a heat room?" One of the first years asked.

Riko sighed- why did their team have to attract the stupid ones this year?

Noticing the irritated tick mark on their coach's forehead, Tsuchida quickly explained. "An omega's scent turns dangerously delicious and will attract betas and especially alphas when they are in heat. Even if the omega is bonded, their scent is just crazily good during heat. Their scents get so strong that it can actually seep through the walls and doors, spreading it all over the place. If a beta or alpha caught the scent, they'll immediately try to storm through and try to get to the omega."

Kawahara decided to jump into the explanation. "For the omega's safety, they spend their heats in heat rooms that they either have built in their homes- if the person in an omega, they can get a heat room built in their house for cheap, like a discount and I know Furi's bedroom is one. Or the omega can rent a room in one of those omega hotels. Heat rooms are specifically built to handle an omega's heat and it contains their scent, preventing it from seeping through."

Riko nodded. "I've put Furi in the equipment room, but it won't be long till his scent passes through. I've put all betas to guard the inside of the gym since they'll be less sensitive to the scent than us. We will be guarding out here." Riko proceeded to give them more orders on where to guard, taking up the east side windows herself as she watched everyone split up.

Inside the equipment room, Kouki was tearing through the room, cursing to himself as he tried to somehow find any temporary suppressants lying around (why there would be suppressants in an equipment room, Kouki's mind was very chaotic at that point that common sense completely eluded him this fact) that could lessen the cramps and stop the slick that was already drenching his pants by then.

The omega groaned when his search left the room in a hectic mess, no suppressants in hand. Crouching down, Kouki curled up into himself, taking deep breaths as he tried to ride through yet another cramp.

Being experienced with heats, Kouki knew that it would be about two to three hours before his true heat really hit him. For now in his pre-heat, he would have to fight through the cramps and the uncomfortable wetness sliding between his thighs. Everything in his body was screaming for his mate and he had to force himself to not shed off his constricting, heated clothing.

Kuroko had yelled earlier from the outside that Seijuurou was on his way, that his train should be arriving in about two hours and that he had sent his most trusted staff to pick up Kouki. The omega was relieved at this and his heart was thumping yearnfully at the thought of being with his bond mate soon.

Kouki didn't know how long he stayed balled up on the floor, but soon he smelled another scent come into the room and Kouki let out a cry, curling into himself more. This wasn't his Sei and he was scare of this foreign scent.

"Furihata-kun? This is Manabu-sensei and I promise I won't hurt you. Me and Hanao-sensei are here to help you." Kouki recognized the voice of his japanese teacher, Manabu-sensei who was also an omega.

"I have temporary suppressants and a blanket with scent-blockers that should help cover your scent partially." Hanao-sensei, the school nurse and a beta added.

Kouki made a quiet whine, alerting the two to his whereabouts. The two teachers made their way to Kouki and immediately helped him up. Hanao-sensei immediately injected something into the brunette, making him sigh as his stomach cramps significantly lessened. "The effect will only last for about an hour but hopefully that will be enough time for you to get to your home." Hanao-sensei told him. The beta was wearing one of those scent-blocker masks on his face.

Manabu-sensei didn't need a mask since she was an omega and omega's were not affected by another omega's scent, even in heat. She carefully wrapped the blanket around Kouki, and gently placed the omega onto her lap, giving him soothing rubs on his stomach. "Just take deep breaths, Furihata-kun. You are going to be okay. Your friends are outside, guarding the gym and doing their best to keep outsiders away. They are very protective of you. You are very lucky to have people who love and care for you so much." She told him quietly.

Kouki gave a small smile through his pain. This was one of the reasons why he loved basketball so much- because of his team. The Seirin basketball team was so much more than just teammates, friends, buddies...they were a family. His family.

Kouki was indeed very lucky to have them.

He didn't know how much time passed, but eventually he heard someone yelling and suddenly the omega found himself lifted up to his feet with the help of the two senseis. He figured that his ride had arrived.

They exited the room and Kouki saw his beta teammates wearing the same mask as Hanao-sensei and each of them were guarding every window and door. His teammates all looked concerned at him.

Kuroko and Fukuda came in front of them, also wearing masks, and took hold of Kouki themselves when the senseis handed him over. "Don't worry, Furihata-kun. Your ride arrived and is waiting at the back gate." Kuroko assured him as they brought Kouki to the back exit.

"...back gate?" Kouki whispered quietly, wiping the sweat that was dripping down his face. He really wanted to take off the blanket and his clothes as he started to feel suffocated.

"Since school's out, there are lots of students roaming around at the entrance, waiting to go home. The back gates are more safer since there are less people there." Fukuda explained.

As the trio made their way outside, the brunette recognized Kagami and Kiyoshi there, a few feet away also wearing masks. They nodded towards them before walking a few feet ahead, giving off protective alpha pheromones to ward others off.

Kouki felt his eyes water at how much his team was going through for him. Even though it must be hard for everyone, especially his alpha teammates, they still fought down their instincts to make sure he was protected and safe.

Suddenly Kouki heard a growl behind them and before he could turn to look, Kagami immediately ran behind them and with a ferocious growl, he tackled down whatever intruder was there. Watching Kagami pinning down the body of a fellow male student, Kouki was immediately pulled forward as Kuroko and Fukuda hurried him away.

Kouki sighed in relief when he saw one of the Akashi black cars up ahead. The door opened and two of the Akashi maids, Chika and Takari who were both omegas, exited the car and waited for him.

Making their way to the car, Kouki paused before entering the car as he looked back at his friends. "Are you sure Kagami will be alright?" He panted, looking worried.

Kuroko nodded. "Please do not worry, Furihata-kun. I'm sure Kagami-kun will be fine."

"Yeah, and I'm positive that Hyuuga-senpai and Mitobe-senpai are helping him right now. I can hear their growling and shouts from here." Fukuda added.

"I'm so sorry about this." Kouki apologized quietly, sniffling a bit at the trouble he was causing.

Even with the mask on, Kiyoshi's wide smile still shined through. "Don't worry bout us, Furi! Everyone on the team will always look out for you and we're happy to do it. Don't you know? The Seirin basketball team always watches out for each other, we are a family. Now, go on and just take care of yourself, ne?" He reassured the other.

Kouki wiped away some of his tears as he gave them a watery smile and nodded. The maids ushered him into the car and Kouki waved his teammates goodbye as the car pulled away and drove off.

During the ride, Chika let Kouki lean against her as she rubbed soothing circles onto his stomach and back while Takari was wiping the sweat and tears from Kouki's face and body. They both spoke to him in soothing tones, helping him keep distracted from his predicament.

When they made it back to the Akashi mansion, with the help of one of the large beta butlers, they carried Kouki into the house and brought him to his heat room.

The heat room inside the Akashi house was very white and pristine. The decor and furniture was very minimal- two large king size beds and a large futon inside (the couple liked a variety of places to do it on and it made it more comfortable since they didn't need to sleep on a dirtied bed afterwards). There were plenty of towels, blankets and pillows provided and on the large tables besides the beds and futon were water, energy drinks and healthy snacks for their nourishment. There was also small drawers where Kouki knew held the condoms, lube (though Kouki didn't need it with all the slick that was coming out of him) and sex toys.

At the back of his mind, the omega yearned for his bedroom back at home where his nest was set up but Kouki didn't think about it for too long since his mind was already far gone at this point to care too much.

He was carefully placed onto one of the beds and with the sound of the door closing, Kouki finally found himself alone.

In less than a second, Kouki had ripped off the scent blocking blanket and all his clothes and sighed in relief as the cool air from the air conditioner caressed his heated nude body.

Laying face down on the bed, Kouki spread open his legs wide and immediately shoved his index finger inside his slicked hole while his other hand wrapped around his cock. Kouki moaned as he started to stroke his cock in a circular upwards motion as he rutted against the mattress beneath him for more friction. He slipped another finger inside and began to scissor himself.

Feeling frustrated since it wasn't nearly enough, Kouki removed his hand from his cock and reached for the drawer besides him.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Cancel all my meetings this week and tell my father that I won't be able to attend the dinner party tomorrow. I've already informed the school of my absence as well." Seijuurou ordered his staff as he entered the mansion, handing the nearest maid his school bag and coat.

The alpha already felt something was off with his mate during one of the presentations that was being given by their treasurer during a student council meeting.

As soon as he had received the call from Kuroko earlier, the redhead immediately cut the meeting short and quickly made his way to the nearest train station to take the first bullet train out to Tokyo.

Taking two steps at a time up the stairs, Seijuurou quickly made his way to the only heat room inside the mansion.

As soon as he yanked the door open, the alpha was hit by a strong wave of omega pheromones and the heavy scent of heat. He immediately stepped into the room and locked the door shut behind him before looking towards one of the beds inside the room.

What he saw made him growl hungrily as arousal filled inside his body.

His Kouki was laying on his back on the bed, legs splayed wide open as a large dildo was shoved up inside his slickened hole while his other hand was pulling with frantic tugs at his cock dripping with pre-cum.

It was a sinful sight which Seijuurou absolutely loved.

Immediately ridding himself of his clothing, the redhead made his way onto the bed and hovered over his mate.

Sensing his alpha, Kouki opened up his eyes to look feverishly at his mate, taking note at the hunger the other held in his gleaming red eyes. "S-Sei..." Kouki whimpered, letting go of his cock as he reached for the other.

Seijuurou took hold of his hand and gave it a gentle kiss as he smiled at his beloved, his eyes darkening with love and lust. "I'm here now, my love. I'll take care of you." He promised, leaning over to kiss Kouki's lips.

They both spent a few minutes kissing, practically shoving their tongues against the other in an intricate dance as they attempted to swallow the other up. Needing air, they separated for a while, a string of spit still connecting them as they stared at one another with dilated eyes.

Noticing the toy that was still between the other's legs, Seijuurou reached down and took it out, throwing it off to the side. He never liked using toys during heat- it infuriated his inner alpha for some reason since it only wanted Kouki to be filled and satisfied by Seijuurou and Seijuurou only.

At the sudden empty feeling, Kouki whined, giving a tearful agonizing look at his alpha.

Seijuurou gave the other a quick peck on the lips before smirking as he slid down until he was faced with Kouki's bottom.

Taking a second to appreciate his love's glistening hole, twitching with copious amounts of slick spilling out of it. The redhead leaned down and ran his tongue right over Kouki's hole, making a low sound at the delicious taste of it.

Feeling his alpha's tongue on him, Kouki let out loud mewling noise as he felt more cum seep out of his cock. "Ahh...ah! Sei....mmhm...more!" He gasped, spreading his legs wider to give more access.

Seijuurou happily lapped up more of the slick that was still sliding out, making noises as he did so. He then thrusted his tongue right inside, holding onto the other's hips as his omega gave out a loud cry as he almost arched off the bed.

Seijuurou slapped away Kouki's hand away from his cock, forcing the brunette to clench onto the other's hair instead. The hair pulling was painful very arousing to Seijuurou.

The alpha continued to thrust his tongue into his omega, listening to the other cries and pants until Kouki said in a gasping voice. "S-Sei...I'm g-going t-to...to come soon...!" The omega whined.

Seijuurou grinned, his tongue still moving. Making his mate come with only his tongue- that was exactly what the alpha wanted.

And only seconds later, he got what he wanted when Kouki suddenly stiffened up as he climaxed, letting out a strangled cry as his cock shot cum all over his chest and the bedsheets.

Seijuurou licked him up through his orgasm. When Kouki finished, he laid there trembling and huffing.

Finally, Seijuurou pulled away and Kouki couldn't help but blush at how messy his lover's face was. The redhead had slick and cum smeared all over his face and had drops of it on his bright red hair.

He never looked better to Kouki.

They both shared a kiss, Kouki tasting himself in Seijuurou's mouth. Pulling away, Kouki gave his mate a pleading look as he said in a needy but stern voice, "I want you in me, Sei. Now."

Not needing any more encouragement, Seijuurou grabbed one of the pillows and carefully inserted it under his mate, positioning him for easier access and comfort. The alpha quickly leaned over to steal his omega's lips once more as he grabbed onto his own already hardened and leaking cock as aligned it with Kouki's entrance.

They didn't like using condoms (they liked feeling each other with no barrier between them) and since they were both clean (they were both virgins before each other) and Kouki was on the doctor-prescribed birth control, Seijuurou immediately pushed himself into his omega, letting out a loud groan as he found himself enveloped in the other's sweet tightness and heat.

Kouki sighed in relief, finally being filled by his alpha's cock. Seijuurou slowly rocked their hips together, his cock inching deeper and deeper into the his mate.

When Seijuurou was fully inside Kouki, they both sighed in bliss as they shared a smile between them. "Kouki, are you okay?" Seijuurou asked, reaching over to comb back the other's sweaty hair.

Kouki moaned as he nodded. "Yes. Please Sei...give me more."

Seijuurou gave him a teasing grin. "More? More what Kouki?"

Kouki groaned before pulling the other by the hair and forcing him into a hard and harsh kiss. Pulling away, Kouki looked at Seijuurou with dark eyes, his heat hitting him hard as he demanded. "Fuck me Sei."

There was no more teasing glint in the redhead's eyes as the alpha growled and immediately kissed his omega as he slightly pulled out of the other before ramming right back inside, making sure to hit the other's prostate as he did so.

Kouki cried in pleasure as his alpha continued to thrust in and out of him, hitting his sweet spot every time without miss. The omega also rutted his cock against the other's hard stomach, loving the delicious friction between them.

Seijuurou panted as he continued thrusting into his mate, loving the feel of the brunette's nails piercing down his back and the whimpers and moans his omega let out with each hit of his prostate. "You feel so good...haaaa...so good Kouki." Seijuurou crooned, taking one of the brunette's nipples into his mouth and sucking on it sharply, one of his hands toying with the other.

Kouki gasped as he dugged his nails deeper into the other. "Sei....Sei!" That was all Kouki could get out, pleasure completely overriding whatever cohertness was left in his heat-riddled mind.

"You're so beautiful...so tight..." Seijuurou panted, feeling the brunette start to tightened up, getting ready to climax. The alpha was also close to coming and he could feel his knot beginning to form.

The brunette moaned more, panting and sweating crazily. He could feel his alpha's knot forming inside him- it was only a matter of time. "Sei....I'm g-gonna...haahh...come...!" The omega's legs beginning to jerk.

"Go ahead, love. Mhm...haaa, come for me." Seijuurou told him, thrusting more hard into his omega's body.

When the redhead's knot finally formed and shoved right inside Kouki's rim, it caused the omega to finally come. With a loud scream of his alpha's name, Kouki came all over their bodies and bed, their scents exploding into the room and surrounding them in a haze of marshmallow and cinnamon.

Seijuurou gave a few more thrusts before his knot locked tightly inside Kouki. Seijuurou finally came, growling furiously as his teeth bit down sharply into Kouki's neck- right where their bond mark was. Kouki cried loudly in pleasure before also biting his own teeth into Seijuurou's bond mark as well.

They both rode out their orgasms, rutting and jerking against each other as the tremors kept riding through their bodies. Seijuurou felt that he came so much that he wouldn't be surprised to see his cum seeping between them, through his knot and Kouki's hole.

Finally, Seijuurou pulled his teeth away, licking soothingly at the blood that was seeping out of their bond mark. Kouki let go of Seijuurou's bond mark to let out a whimper when the redhead pulled away, quickly calming down when his alpha gave him a soothing lick and placing loving kisses and sucks all over the brunette's neck, chest...pretty marking every place where Seijuurou could reach, where people would see and know that Kouki was his.

Seijuurou's knot was still inflated and he knew that he and Kouki would be locked together for at least another hour before it goes down.

Leaving one last kiss mark next to his omega's left nipple, Seijuurou pulled himself up and adjusted his hold onto the other, making them both comfortable. The redhead sighed when he could feel his mate nuzzling into his neck, making soft contented sighs.

They continued to cuddled together for a few minutes before Kouki moved away from the other's neck and looked up into Seijuurou's face, smiling gently with his eyes finally free- though temporarily- from the haze of heat. "I love you Sei. My alpha." Kouki sighed, leaning over to nuzzle his nose against the other's in a sweet Eskimo kiss.

Seijuurou grinned, feeling his chest swell with pride with his mate's praise. He cooed at his omega while touching his lips onto the other's cheek. "You're perfect, my Kouki. My perfect omega."

Kouki's omega mewled in happiness, loving the feel of his alpha's body on him and his loving words.

Even though they both had similar heights- Seijuurou being a few centimeters taller than him- their bodies were quite different.

Seijuurou body was actually larger and harder than Kouki's and was packed with lean, sleek muscles.

Kouki's body on the other hand was on the soft but quite thin side. Due to his upbringing, the brunette had always been on the skinnier side due to not eating enough when he was a child. And his high metabolism also didn't help any. He was almost to the point of malnourishment at one point but due to the baggy clothes he liked to wear, no one could really tell.

Thankfully, due to his coach's strict diet regime he now managed to put some meat and a bit of muscle onto his bones. And when Seijuurou noticed how thin he actually was when they first started dating, he immediately set out to put more weight onto the omega- with the help of a dietician and his personal chefs.

Now, Kouki was at a healthy weight and Seijuurou adored the softness that the omega had gained, especially around his stomach (the alpha never liked to remember seeing the brunette's ribs practically poking out when he first saw his omega without a shirt).

As the pair continued to snuggle together, giving each other little kisses here and there, Seijuurou smiled down at his mate and murmured into the other's ear, "I'm sorry if I was a bit rough there, Kouki. Did I hurt you?"

Kouki giggled when he felt the redhead bite down softly at his earlobe. "No, you were perfect Sei. It felt really good. Amazing." He assured the other, nuzzling into the underside of Seijuurou's jaw.

When Seijuurou's knot finally deflated, Kouki moaned when the alpha slowly slid out of him, the omega feeling a bit sad at the empty feeling it left. Seijuurou looked down and grinned proudly at the large amount of cum that began oozing out of his mate.

Giving the other a small peck, Seijuurou got up and reached for some of the towels and wipes nearby. He decided to give them both a quick wipe down since he knew that Kouki's heat would hit again soon. There would be no point in washing up, just to get dirty again (it was usually the third day, when the heat would be lessened, where they would bathe in the private bathroom attached to the heat room and most likely engage in shower sex).

Kouki was a boneless heap in bed, only able to watch as Seijuurou wiped himself down before gently attending to the brunette, running the wet wipes over the omega's body and wiping the stickiness off between his legs.

When they were both clean enough, Seijuurou replaced the bedsheets (Kouki merely lifted his body for the sheet to slide out but still didn't get off the bed) and disposed the soiled items inside the laundry hamper at the corner of the room.

A growling sound was heard in the room, and Seijuurou lifted an eyebrow at his mate, watching the omega blushed a bright red as his hands went up to hold his stomach. "Are you feeling hungry, love?" Seijuurou asked gently.

Kouki smiled shyly before nodding his head. During heat, the pair usually lived on the nutritious but tasty heat snacks that was provided in the room- they only had just enough time to eat something quickly before Kouki's heat would start again.

Seijuurou grabbed some drinks and snacks from the table and brought them to the bed. "Here you go, Kouki." The redhead handed the other his favorites during heat- a blue mountain sports drink and two large bars of green tea granola that Akashi's personal chef had made specifically for Kouki.

Kouki moaned happily as he took a bite of the sweet granola, tasting the oats, grains, dried fruits and nuts covered in a sweet honey mixed with an almost bitter green tea flavor to balance it out. It was heavenly.

He broke off a piece and lovingly fed it to his mate, giggling when his alpha lightly licked his fingers as he accepted the piece.

Kouki continued to feed himself and Seijuurou with the granola and a few other things like the chocolate mint and salted caramel cookies, and the savory items like the cured meats and vegetable crackers that were also prepared for them. In return, Seijuurou made sure to keep his mate hydrated by helping the other drink the provided energy drinks and water.

They both ate and talked about what happened earlier while Kouki was still at school. The omega had to calm down the furious alpha when he retold the part where a random student had almost gotten to Kouki when they were going to the car- but fortunately the student was stopped by Kagami and the others. Seijuurou would forever be grateful to the Seirin team for helping protect his Kouki.

The feverish heat, the hard and dirty sex with different positions that they would try out, the softer and more gentler sex during the ending days, the closeness and cuddling up with his omega as they spoke in soft loving tones, bathing together or feeding one another during the heat's short breaks...it was all perfect. This was what Seijuurou loved when his Kouki went into heat.

And when Kouki's heat started to act up again, Seijuurou watched with intense eyes as his seductive lover began to make his way down his body and opened his reddened lips to take in his alpha's now throbbing cock, making the redhead sigh in bliss at the wet warmth his mate's mouth provided.

Akashi Seijuurou was truly a lucky man.


	11. Chapter 11

## A Box Of Green Tea Cream Puffs

"Name and state your business." Twenty eight year-old alpha, Gouda Takeo, one of the security guards at the Akashi Company Main Branch looked down at the short brunette before him.

Takeo was used to seeing all types of important business men and women entering and exiting through the Akashi building.

But it wasn't everyday that he saw a normal high school student trying to enter said building.

"U-um...My name is F-Furihata Kouki and, uh...I'm here to see Akashi Seijuurou?" The timid-looking brunette ended with what sounded like a question. Takao's raised an eyebrow at this- what business did this brunette have with the heir to the billion-dollar Akashi company?

Based on the brunette's uniform, they obviously weren't school mates. But Takeo couldn't sense any ill-intentions involved with the brunette and the security guard usually had a good eye for character.

Takeo watched as the other started to fidget, looking uncomfortable. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid and tried to look a little less intimidating.

When the brunette shifted himself closer, Takeo's eyes widened as he caught the other's distressed scent.

The kid was a male omega. Well, that made things more interesting.

Before Takeo could ask what business the brunette had with the Akashi heir, his main supervisor and boss, Noritako Fumito, head of the Akashi Company Main Branch Security, came by and waved at him.

"Gouda-kun, it's time for your break. I'll take it from here." Fumito informed the other with a smile. Noticing someone standing by, Fumito looked closer and his eyes widened as he recognized the familiar messy brown hair and wide eyes he had met back a few times while he was stationed at the Akashi Mansion in Kyoto. "Furihata-sama? What are you doing here?"

Gouda looked surprised at his boss's familiar tone with the brunette and the honorific that was addressed. He looked back at the kid and his eyes widened at the bright smile on the omega's face- he looked like a different person without the nerves quivering through him.

"Fumito-san! It's good to see you again. My school ended early due to a teacher's meeting and my Coach cancelled practice. So since I had the time, I thought I'd visit Sei...but maybe I should have made an appointment first?" Kouki looked sheepish. Takeo was taken aback- did that kid just call the heir to the Akashi company, 'Sei'?

Fumito laughed as he waved it off. "Nonsense! For you, there's no need. Feel free to come here anytime- I'm sure the bosses would love to see you."

Kouki smiled shyly. "Okay. Um, since this is my first time here, can you tell me where the kitchens are?"

"Kitchens?" Fumito inquired, looking curious.

The brunette nodded. "Sei told me that there were kitchens in this building and I was allowed to cook something if I wanted to. I was hoping to make him and Masaomi-papa something for a snack." Takeo choked when he heard the brunette refer to one of the most feared businessmen in the world and his boss as 'Masaomi-papa'.

Fumito merely chuckled and gave the kid a thumbs up. "That's sounds like a great idea Furihata-sama! Okay, so the kitchens are in the second floor. Just take a left and walk till you see brown doors. Open them and take a right. Keep walking and you'll be in the kitchens." He instructed.

Kouki listened to him and nodded. He smiled and thanked Fumito. He turned to bow to Takeo before waving as he walked away.

When the brunette was out of their sight, Takeo looked at his boss and asked, "Sir, if I may ask who was that kid? Was he an important business associate or something?"

Fumito grinned at the confused look on his subordinate's face. When he explained exactly who Furihata Kouki was, the older man couldn't help but burst out laughing at the shocked expression on the kouhai's face.

Takeo was dumbstruck, staring wide-eyed at the direction the brunette had disappeared off to. "Wait, so that guy is..."

Fumito grinned as he wiped away some of the tears he shed from his laughter. "Yes. That's why I suggest that you remember that boy's face and name from now on. I doubt that the head boss and the heir would be happy if they knew that you didn't let Furihata-sama into the building."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Takahiko Yumiko moaned in bliss as she took a sip of her double shot, dark chocolate espresso.

She and four other people were currently interning for one of Japan's most prestigious companies, the Akashi Corporation. With elderly parents and a sister still in middle school, Yumiko was always working hard to make ends meet for herself and her family. So when she received the internship at THE Akashi corporation, she and her family literally shed tears of joy.

Yumiko made sure to wear her best professional clothing- a well kept blouse and a-line black skirt that was given to her by her aunt- and started her new journey in the company.

Her first days at the internship were hard, but she had expected it. All the numbers and words she had to memorize and organize, all the higher ups she had to meet and present to- there was no time for her to even take a five minute breather. Even during her lunch break she was going over the work that was given to her.

But she never complained about it (unlike some of her fellow interns) and continued to push on. Eventually, a month later she managed to get a routine going and could now even fit in some coffee time like right now. And it was such a blessing that the main branch had their own coffee shop inside their building that sold the most amazing and affordable drinks made by a world-class barista.

"This is seriously the best coffee I ever tasted." Fuji Arata agreed, as he practically inhaled his latte. Arata was another intern and Yumiko's closest and only friend there. He was also a beta like herself. She had a crush on him but she was keeping that to herself.

As they both chatted about the paperwork that was given to them for that day, Arata rolled his eyes as he whispered, "Heads up but Fumihiro and the twins are coming our way."

Yumiko sighed as she looked at the other three interns coming to their table. Shigeoka Fumihiro was the only alpha intern and came from a wealthy family (though not as wealthy as the Akashi's). He constantly bragged about how his father was close with the Akashi family and the head of the Akashi Corporation was already planning on making him one of the top managers- the internship was merely for show. And he was always flocked around by the last two interns in the group, omega fraternal twins, Kimi and Kiya.

"So you two were here. Hm, this place is quite...mediocre but I can see how it would meet both your standards." Fumihiro commented, taking a seat at their table.

"Fumi-kun took us to that michelin star restaurant a few blocks away." Kimi cooed, batting her eyes at the alpha.

"The lemon meringue pie was so yummy." Kiya squealed, running her long fingernails down Fumihiro's arm.

Fumihiro chuckled boastfully. "Of course. Only the best for the best." Yumiko and Arata rolled their eyes as the twins giggled.

When the group started to talk about their work that they were given, Kimi grabbed their attention and pointed to something behind them. "Oh my god, look at that!"

Yumiko followed where the twin pointed and saw a young brunette, about the same height as herself (she was quite tall for a girl). He had wide eyes, messy light brown hair (which looked authentic and not like one of those bottle dyed browns that the twin's hair were) and wore a black high school gakuran. He definitely stood out among all the professional looking suits and uniforms around him.

She watched as the frazzled-looking brunette walked towards the elevator, hesitate, and then turned around as he mumbled quietly to himself.

Kiya snorted. "God, what kind of people does security around here let in?"

Fumihiro shook his head in disappointment. "Well, it is hard to find good help these days."

Yumiko frowned at them. Her father had always taught her to never judge a book by the cover. To her, there was something endearing about the obviously lost brunette. And she couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt that there was more to the boy than what was let on.

"The kid looks like he could use some help. Come on, let's go." Arata told them, getting up.

Fumihiro and the twins grimaced as they replied with why they should bother helping someone who obviously got themselves lost in a place where they didn't belong. Yumiko rolled her eyes and joined Arata as they made their way towards the boy.

The brunette squeaked and faced them when Yumiko tapped his shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Yumiko said, looking apologetic.

The brunette flushed as he shook his head. "N-no! It's okay."

Arata gave the brunette a calming smile as he introduced themselves. "Hello, I'm Arata and this is Yumiko. We're interns here and we couldn't help but notice that you looked like you could need some help."

The brunette's eyes widened more than what Yumiko thought was possible. "Ah! I'm sorry. Y-yes. Um. This is my first time here and I'm kinda lost." He confessed, blushing madly.

Yumiko gave the brunette an encouraging smile. "We've been here for almost two months so we pretty much know our way around here. Why don't you tell us where you're headed and we can give you directions?" She offered.

The brunette smiled widely at that and both Yumiko and Arata blinked at how cute the brunette looked. The happy look matched him much better than his panicked look. "Thank you! I'm trying to find the kitchens and the security guard gave me directions but, well, I sort of still got lost." He pouted.

"Ah! I know where that is- we usually leave our bentos from home in the kitchens. It's on the second floor. When you get out of the elevator, take a left and when you see two large brown doors, open them and take a right. At the end is the kitchens." Arata told him.

The brunette grinned as he bowed to them. "Thank you so much! God, I'm even on the wrong floor!" The brunette moaned in embarrassment.

"It's fine. When I first began working here, I had trouble finding the restroom! I just barely made it at the time." Yumiko laughed.

The brunette giggled as he nodded, looking much better. "Well, I'm off! Thank you very much for your help, Arata-san and Yumiko-san!" When the brunette turned away, he paused before looking back at them. "Ah! I'm sorry, I never introduced myself! I'm Furihata Kouki. Hopefully we can meet again!" He waved at them as he walked away.

Yumiko smiled as she watched the brunette enter the elevator. She sighed. "Ah, youth. I really miss it."

Arata chuckled as he shook his head. "Wow. I still can't believe it. It's my first time meeting one. I can't wait to tell my family when I get home."

Yumiko turned to her friend and frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Arata raised an eyebrow at her. "You seriously didn't notice? Furihata-kun is an omega."

Yumiko's jaw dropped in disbelief. Male omega's were super rare and Yumiko herself had only met one other before- it was a classmate of her sisters. Yumiko was so busy helping the brunette that she didn't even take into account his scent.

"Wow. I guess there really was something special about him." Yumiko blinked, trying to remember the brunette's scent but failing.

Arata smiled at her as they made their way back to work. "I wonder what Furihata-kun's business here was? Maybe he was visit a lover or something- he was obviously bonded after all?"

Yumiko laughed at that. "A high school student dating a middle aged business man? How scandalous." She shook her head. "I'm pretty sure it's something else- Furihata-kun doesn't seem like that type of person anyway."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"E-excuse me!" Tetsurou looked down to see a young boy what had just bumped into him, bowing down in apology.

The elderly man, well in his fifties, waved it off as he smiled. "It's no problem, young man. And might I ask what a high school student like yourself is doing here?" He was curious to see a young student present inside the Akashi main branch- besides the young Akashi heir himself.

"Oh. My name is Furihata Kouki." The brunette introduced himself, explaining why he was on his way to the kitchens. Tetsurou's eyes widened at the familiar name and took in the boy's appearance as he matched it up to what Masaomi had told him earlier about his son's bond mate.

The elderly man laughed loudly, patting the other on the back. "What a sweet boy you are, Furihata-kun. I'm sure young Seijuurou-kun will appreciate your visit. And I do recognize you now; Masaomi-kun always talks highly of you. Now I can see why."

Kouki blushed at the praise. "Ah, thank you, um...?"

The man smiled down at him. "My name is Daikiichi Tetsurou, my dear boy."

Kouki's eyes widened at that. "Eh? Aren't you the main head of the Daikiichi Enterprises? The one that owns the Soba-Ya! Restaurant chain?"

Daikiichi smiled proudly, happy that the young boy had heard of his business. "I'm honored that you've heard of us. You're a good influence on that father and son, Furihata-kun. I've known Masaomi-kun for over thirty years now and I've never seen him as happy as I do now. And young Seijuurou-kun smiles just like he had before the young mistress Shiori's death- she was a good woman, I tell you. I hope that you can keep on doing whatever you're doing and make them both happy. And please feel free to visit one of my restaurants in the future- it'll be on me." Daikiichi winked.

Kouki grinned widely at that. "Yes, sir!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"What is your business here in my kitchen?" Head Chef, Allora Mimi, graduate from the world famous cooking school Le Cordon Bleu in France and now living in Tokyo with her japanese husband and their sixteen year old daughter, raised her eyebrow at the young man in front of her.

The brunette looked nervous as he gave her a bow. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. But I would like to ask if it would be alright if I could bake something in your kitchen? I'm planning on giving it to Akashi Masaomi and Akashi Seijuurou." He explained timidly.

Mimi raised her thin eyebrow at this. Why would this boy be cooking for the head and his heir of the Akashi company?

Observing the brunette with her keen eyes, she could tell that there was something special about the boy- something about him made her know that he wasn't just any random stranger. Taking a sniff in the air, Mimi was surprised as the scent of omega hit her nostrils.

A brunette male omega with a nervous aura...hmm... Mimi seemed to recall one of her friends telling her something about someone like this a few weeks ago. Her fellow chef friend, the head chef of the Akashi Mansion in Tokyo, Manami Chiyoko told her about the Akashi's heir's new bond mate and how good of a cook he was.

"What is your name, boy?" Mimi demanded. In the kitchen, she was known as the demon chef and was far from being polite and kind to her apprentice chefs.

"F-Furihata Kouki." The omega stuttered.

Mimi nodded. Yes, that was the name that Chiyoko had mentioned. "Okay. I will let you use this oven for your food. Make sure you stay out of the way from the others and do not make a mess in my kitchen." She gave him a warning glare.

Kouki nodded his head frantically. "Yes! I promise to be out of your way. Thank you again for letting me use the kitchen again, ma'am."

Mimi frowned. Being called 'ma'am' made her feel so old. "Call me Chef Mimi. I am the head chef here. The ingredients you may need is in the food storage and fridges on your left."

"Thank you Chef Mimi-san." The brunette bowed again before scurrying off to collect his ingredients. Mimi noticed the other chefs gossiping about the boy among themselves so she sent them one of her death glares to shut them up and send them back to work.

As Mimi pounded down one of the chicken fillets for the roulade, she observed the omega organizing the ingredients he had gathered onto his station. She nodded in approval- cleanliness and organization is important in a successful kitchen.

"Hi Furi-kun, my name is Seiri Minami. What are you making?" Her sous chef asked the brunette.

Kouki jumped as he looked at Minami before giving a small smile. "I'm making green tea cream puffs." He answered.

Minami's eyes lit up at that as he nodded. "That sounds good. Well, if you need anything you can just ask any of us." The other apprentice chefs in the kitchens spoke their approval, quieting down at the glare that Mimi once again sent them.

The brunette nodded shyly as he began to sift the flour and green tea powder in a large bowl to make the creamy filling. He then added sugar and egg yolk and mixed them together. Mimi noted with approval at the brunette's proper whisking technique.

The omega proceeded to heat milk in a saucepan and when it heated, he removed the pan from the heat. He added the flour mixture into the milk and placed the saucepan back on the stove, cooking the mixture at a medium-low heat as he constantly stirred it.

When the mixture was at the right consistency- it had curd and was at a custard-like texture- he added the softened butter and mixed it in until it was well incorporated.

He then removed the pan from the heat and transferred the green tea filling into a bowl. Grabbing the bowl, the brunette carefully placed it inside one of the refrigerators.

While the filling was chilling, Kouki started on the pâté à choux (the pastry puffs).

He heated butter, milk, water, sugar and salt in another saucepan, ensuring that the butter had melted before bringing the mixture to a boil. He then turned off the heat.

Removing the pan, he added the sifted flour and mixed well until the dough was fairly smooth and free of lumps. Mimi noted that the omega managed to mix it properly- making sure to incorporate air into the pastry.

Transferring the mixture, the brunette used a wooden spatula to mix it a little to release the steam. Adding in the beaten egg in three portions, he then used a handheld mixer to mix it all smoothly- making sure not to overmix it.

Scooping the pastry dough into a piping bag with a large round plain tip, he twisted the bag closed and proceeded to pipe large ovals onto the baking sheet. Mimi looked confused when the omega changed the tip of the pastry bag with a smaller piping tip. She watched as he piped two small roundish triangles at the top of each of the ovals.

After piping out exactly twenty-five choux puffs, Kouki placed the sheet in the oven at the temperature of 200-210°C.

Mimi watched the omega fiddling with his thumbs as he waited for the puffs to bake for about thirty seconds before barking up, "Furihata-sama. There is no dallying around in my kitchen. Help Seiri and Michiyama with the desserts!" She ordered. The brunette squeaked before chirping up a 'Yes, chef!' and hurried to where the said chefs were.

She could hear the other chefs whispering once more, surprised that Mimi was allowing an unknown stranger help out in the kitchens. But Mimi knew what she was doing- with over thirty years of experience in the culinary world, Mimi could spot someone with potential.

And Furihata Kouki had immense culinary potential.

Mimi kept an eye on the omega, but was smug when the boy proved her right- he had no trouble follow directions and orders. He moved effortlessly as he evenly crumb-coated the cakes, swiftly piped out the meringue for the macaroons and skillfully tempered dark chocolate for the truffles.

As she put thyme, peppered jack cheese and prosciutto into the chicken and rolled it up, she listened as her apprentices talked animatedly with the young boy. Usually she didn't approve of loud conversations in her kitchen- her idiotic apprentices were laughing boisterously at something the brunette said- by she'll allow it this one time as she listened to the omega's quiet giggling.

Fifteen minutes after putting his puffs in the oven, the brunette went to check on them (only looking at them from the outside, never once opening the oven door) before lowering the heat to 160°C and going back to his assigned eclairs. After 25-30 minutes later, the brunette came back and turned off the oven, letting his choux puffs to bake in the remaining heat (Mimi knew this also helped the insides of the puffs to become dry).

Ten minutes later the brunette took out his beautifully golden brown puffs and let them cool off. After Kouki finished dusting the last of the truffles with spiced Mexican chocolate powder and handing them over to one of the apprentice chefs, he went back to finish his cream puffs.

Poking two small holes in the back of each puff, the omega went to retrieve his green filling from the fridge. Scooping it into a pastry bag, he began piping the filling into the holes in his cream puffs.

After each puff was fully filled, Kouki took a chocolate pen- one containing white chocolate and the other with dark chocolate- and carefully drew on the final details onto his cream puffs.

Sighing in triumph, Kouki looked down proudly at his work. Mimi joined her apprentices to look at the brunette's finished product.

In neat rows were twenty-five even and uniformed cream puffs that were shaped as a...cat?

"Oh my god! It's Totoro! It's so cute~" One of the girls, Shimeshi Narako, cooed.

Ah, Mimi remembered her daughter watching this Totoro character when she was younger. Yes, the cream puffs looked exactly like it- right down to its ears and whiskers.

Her apprentices praised the omega's work, making the boy blush a hot red. Michiyama handed a red and white striped box for the brunette to put his baked goods in.

Leaving about ten cream puffs on the baking sheet, he closed the puffs and turned around to face her.

Smiling brightly, Kouki bowed down to Mimi in gratitude. "Chef Mimi-san, thank you so much again for allowing me to use your kitchen today. Please have some cream puffs as thanks."

Mimi waved him off. "No need to thank us. We should thank you for helping us with the desserts. Furihata-sama, may I ask what it is you are interested in doing after graduation?" She inquired.

Kouki blinked at her before answering shyly, "I'm thinking about taking architecture. I really want to design and create buildings and structures. Maybe I'll be allowed to create a new building for the Akashi company one day."

Mimi sighed as she looked at the shining look in the brunette's eyes as he talked about his passion for art and design.

Such a waste of potential culinary talent.

As the omega left waving everyone goodbye, her apprentices dug into the cream puffs, moaning loudly at the deliciousness at the pastries.

"Chef Mimi-san, exactly how do you know Furihata-kun? Is he someone special?" Shimeshi asked curiously, giving her one of the green tea cream puffs to the head chef. She and the apprentices liked the male omega, but couldn't help but wonder about why the boy was allowed to make cream puffs here in the first place. For who was he cooking for?

Mimi gave them all a narrowed look before examining the cream puff in her hand. It was perfectly browned and felt light and crispy in her hand. "From now on, you must show respect and address him as Furihata-sama." She said sternly, her gaze still on the cream.

When another apprentice questioned why, Mimi finally gave them a proper explanation as to who 'Furihata Kouki' actually was.

As the room filled with loud gasps, chokes and squeals from her noisy apprentices, Mimi rolled her eyes as she finally took a bite into the cream puff.

Ah...as expected. It rivaled those made from the most famous and skilled patisseries.

Once again, what a waste of potential culinary talent.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Ughhh...Yumiko, give it to me straight- is my right arm still attached to my body?" Arata moaned, his head resting ontop his desk.

Yumiko nodded as she let out a small yawn. "Yup. It's still there."

Arata moaned again. "Thank god."

The two were finally done with their assignment, only having to double check and print out their work for their boss to see. Yumiko looked at the other three interns and rolled her eyes as Fumihiro was checking his Instagram and the twins were taking selfies on their phones. One of Fumihiro's 'helpers' had come earlier to hand in Fumihiro's work, including the twin's work as well. It really wasn't fair.

The sound of the elevator chimed in and Yumiko turned to look at the newcomer. The interns were working on a separate floor from the regular employees.

The top floor of the building was where the Akashi head himself and also his son/heir stayed on. Yumiko had only seen the main bosses only a few times before. And honestly, they were both equally intimidating and kinda scary.

Yumiko was surprised to see Kouki walking out of the elevator, holding up a red and white striped box. The brunette paused, his eyes going wide as he looked around the room, an expression of dread on his face. "Did I get the wrong floor again?"

The twins snickered to themselves at the panicking boy. "What an idiot." Kiya whispered to them.

"Such a loser." Kimi agreed.

"Why don't the both of you shut up?" Yumiko hissed, getting up and going to Kouki. She heard the gasps from the other girls and Arata commenting that the twins really shouldn't be calling someone an idiot when they themselves were idiots as well. Yumiko grinned- she fell even a bit more deeper in love with the man.

"Ah, Yumiko-san! I'm sorry but I think I got the wrong floor." Kouki pouted, holding his box closely to himself.

"That's okay, Furihata-kun." She assured him. She took a whiff of the boy's scent and realized that he was indeed an omega. He smelled strongly of marshmallows and vanilla...and tea? There was also another underlying spicy scent that Yumiko figured belonged to the omega's mate. Hmm...but why did this second scent smell so familiar to her?

"I'm sorry. I was trying to find Sei so I could surprise him but I think I got the wrong floor. Is this the top floor?" Kouki inquired.

Yumiko shook her head. "I'm sorry but I think you might have pressed the wrong button." She informed the boy gently. In her mind, she was wondering who this 'Sei' was and why Kouki thought he would be on the top floor? The top floor was where the head of the company was on after all.

Kouki blushed at his mistake. "How embarrassing. Thank you for telling me!" He was about to turn to leave before Fumihiro walked up to them, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, what's this? You're actually an omega." Fumihiro said, blinking at the brunette.

The twins gasped as they heard this. "No way! Someone like him?!" They both shrieked.

Fumihiro had a disgusting smile on his face as he started to get closer to Kouki. "So you're one of those male omega's, huh? You do smell amazing and I think that blush is cute." He leered, tilting up the brunette's chin to look at him closely.

Kouki scowled and slapped the alpha's hand away. "Don't touch me!"

Fumihiro looked surprised for a moment before grinning evilly. "Oh? And a feisty one at that. Why don't you be mine? I'll make sure to satisfy you very well."

Kouki looked disgusted as he fervently shook his head, "No way."

Yumiko stepped in between Kouki and Fumihiro to intervene. "Go away Fumihiro-san. Furihata-kun is obviously taken already. Can't you smell his bond?" She could smell the distress and anger coming from the omega.

Fumihiro glared at her and shoved her away, making Yumiko fall. "It's probably not even that serious since he's just a high schooler. Get out of my way bitch."

"Yumiko!" Arata yelled, getting up.

Kouki gasped as he hurried to catch Yumiko. He had let go of his box, but Yumiko fortunately managed to catch it before it hit the ground. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking worried at her. He helped her stand right up again.

Yumiko smiled at him gratefully. "I'm fine. Thanks for catching me." She looked at Arata holding up Fumihiro by the collar of his shirt. Even though Fumihiro was an alpha and Arata was a beta, Arata obviously was the stronger one of the two.

"Apologize to Yumiko and Furihata-kun!" Arata demanded, gripping the other tighter.

Fumihiro struggled to get out of the other's grip. "Fuck off, beta! Do you know who I am? After My family sues you, I'll make sure that you will never be able to set even a foot into this company or any other company for as long as you live!"

"What is going on here?" Everyone in the room froze as they looked towards the elevator doors that were now opened, revealing two males.

The two men, both alphas, walked out of the elevator and looked at them all. Yumiko gulped.

Akashi Masaomi and his son and future heir, Akashi Seijuurou, the owners and head of the Akashi Company were right in front of her.

And they both didn't look happy at all.

Yumiko quickly shifted herself so she stood protectively in front of Kouki- she didn't want the timid, easily-frightened brunette to get into trouble.

Arata drop his hold on the other as soon as he saw the duo. Fumihiro huffed as he straightened his suit, giving their bosses a sickly sweet look. "Oh, Masaomi-sama and Seijuurou-sama! It's such a delight to have you both here. I apologize for the embarrassing scene you both had to walk into- I'm quite ashamed by my fellow intern's barbaric actions-"

"Silence." Masaomi said, giving the alpha a hard look. Fumihiro automatically shut up at that.

Seijuurou looked around the room and Yumiko froze when his gaze met hers. Looking into the heir's red eyes, never had she felt so terrified before. She changed her mind- out of the two, the son was definitely the more scarier one. His gaze could cut a person in half and leave them twitching on the floor. And what scared her the most was that he was only a high schooler!

Wait. High schooler?

'I was trying to find Sei so I could surprise him but I think I got the wrong floor.'

Yumiko's eyes widened. Sei? As in, Akashi Seijuurou?!

Suddenly, the heir's gaze shifted to something behind her and Yumiko was stunned to see the deadly look soften into something much brighter.

"Sei!" Yumiko jumped at the loud volume of the voice. She watched dumbfounded as Kouki went around her and quickly ran into the heir's waiting arms.

Seijuurou smiled gently as he gave the brunette a loving kiss on his forehead. "Hello, Kouki. Father and I were quite surprised when we saw you show up on our security screens. What may I ask brought you here today?"

Kouki blushed as he hid his face in the other's chest, hugging his mate. "Coach cancelled practice today and I remembered that you were in Tokyo so I wanted to surprise you." He mumbled though it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Seijuurou chuckled, making Yumiko's heart beat faster at the sweet sound. The radiating smile that the redhead gave the brunette was amazing. She didn't even know he was capable of even looking like that. "I'm very happy- thank you, Kouki."

Kouki looked up and smiled brightly at the heir. Then his eyes widened as he turned to look at Masaomi. "Masaomi-papa! I'm sorry for ignoring you! It's nice to see you again." Kouki greeted, stepping out of Seijuurou's arms and going to give his mate's father a hug.

Masaomi gave a rare smile to the brunette and returned his hug. "It's wonderful to see you again as well, Kouki-kun. You're looking well." Kouki smiled before going back to the other Akashi, letting the redhead wrapped an arm around his waist.

Fumihiro cleared his throat, his eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the couple. "Wait. What is the meaning of this?"

Arata rolled his eyes. "Furihata-kun is obviously Akashi-sama's bond mate, duh." He said, stating the obvious.

Yumiko took in the couple's scents and realized why Kouki's scent had seemed familiar to her earlier- the underlying scent had belonged to Seiijuurou- Yumiko remembered smelling the strong cinnamon, all spice scent of her boss weeks ago when they first were introduced.

She observed the two and realized how in synced they were. Based on her own parents, Yumiko had always been a firm believer in 'opposite attracts'.

As she observed the two, she didn't listen to the conversation around her. She jumped when she heard Arata yell, "Bullshit! You were harassing him even though he didn't want it!"

Masaomi narrowed his eyes at Fumihiro, watching the younger alpha squirm under his gaze. The head then turned to Kouki and asked gently, "Kouki-kun? Can you give us your account on what happened?"

Kouki nodded and he shyly said, "I accidentally got lost and ended up here. While Yumiko-san was helping me, Fumihiro-san came up to us and started to get too close, saying how he wanted me to be his even though he knew I was already taken."

"He's lying!" Fumihiro shouted.

Seiijuurou growled as he brought Kouki behind him and glared directly at Fumihiro. "You dare accuse my Kouki of lying?"

Masaomi also looked quite furious as he looked at Fumihiro. "Not only do you harass my future son-in-law but you also dare to think us fools as you give out blatant lies?" Masaomi gave a hard glare that pretty much had Fumihiro shaking in his Italian-imported shoes. "We have cameras set up everywhere and I have watched as you have been letting others do the work that you yourself is supposed to do. I have informed your father of your disgraceful behaviour and he is quite ashamed and has agreed for your internship to be terminated immediately."

"W-wha..?!" Fumihiro stuttered, his face completely pale.

Masaomi shifted his gaze towards the twins causing them both to squeak in fright. "Sumira Kimi-san and Sumira Kiya-san. I'm afraid that both your internships will also be terminated as well. Not only have you been letting others do your works, but there have been several complaints from the female employees about the derogatory slander you have given them and more than fifteen written and verbal requests by the male staff asking for restraining orders against you both for sexual harassment."

"WHAT?!" The twins both shrieked.

Masaomi nodded as he gestured towards the elevator. "Your terminations will be effective immediately. Please gather your belongings and leave the premises. Now." Yuimko was surprised on how fast the pale Fumihiro and the now crying twins could move.

Everything was quiet for a moment as the troublemaking trio were finally gone. Yumiko flinched when Masaomi's gaze hit her and then Arata. "Well, are you two just going to stand there or are you telling me that you both have finished your work?" He older man said in an unamused voice.

Yumiko and Arata both bowed as they told the elder Akashi that they still needed to edit their work before they could turn it in. Before she could go back to her desk, she remembered that she still had the box that Kouki had been holding. "Furihata-sama?" She decided to switch to the more respectful honorific since this was Akashi's mate she was talking to after all. "Here is the box that you were holding earlier."

Kouki beamed as he accepted his box. "Thank you Yumiko-san! And please, just call me Kouki."

Yumiko grinned as she nodded. "Very well, Kouki-sama."

Kouki turned back to his mate and held up the box shyly to him. "Here, Sei. I made these for you and Masaomi-papa in the kitchens- I thought you might like them."

Seiijurou grinned as he received the box. Opening the lid, the redhead grinned at the Totoro green tea cream puffs that were nestled inside. Looking up, the alpha gave his love a sweet kiss as thanks.

Kouki blushed but grinned happily. He then leaned in to whisper something in his alpha's ear. When Seijuurou nodded, Kouki reached into the box and took two cream puffs out and walked towards the two interns. "Yumiko-san and Arata-san, thank you so much for helping me today. Please enjoy these- I've made them myself." He blushed as he handed them both the treats.

"Thank you very much, Kouki-sama. And it was our pleasure to be of assistance to you." Yumiko assured the other.

"Thak hu ho mach, Kouhi-saha! Tese ah ho good! (Thank you so much, Kouki-sama! These are so good!)" Arata thanked, his mouth already full with the cream puff.

Kouki smiled bashfully before waving at them once more before joining Seijuurou and Masaomi.

Seijuurou took Kouki's hand before stepping forward and giving both Yumiko and Arata a slight bow. "Takahiko-san and Fuji-san, thank you for taking care of my mate. I'll be sure to add a bonus to your paychecks this week."

Both Yumiko and Arata frantically thanked the redhead and also bowed. Yumiko was so happy since she could now use the extra money to pay for her sister's upcoming drama club retreat.

"Let's us enjoy Kouki-kun's treats upstairs, shall we?" Masaomi told his son and future son-in-law as he pressed the button for the elevator.

"We can have them together with the tea that Daikiichi-san gifted us with earlier." Seijuurou commented, holding Kouki's hand with his right while his left held the box of cream puffs.

"Oh! I met Daikiichi-san earlier- he was really nice. He invited us to visit one of his restaurants soon." Kouki told them as they went into the elevator. "I've always wanted to try their zaru soba."

"Ugh." Seijuurou wrinkled his nose in disgust- zaru soba was a cold soba dish topped with shredded nori seaweed. Kouki grinned as Masaomi had a small smile on his lips.

When they left, Yumiko continued to stare at the closed elevator doors, still wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Hey, Yumiko. If you're not planning on eating that, you can give it to me." Arata offered, eyeing at the cream puff in her hands a hopeful look.

Yumiko shook out of her thoughts. "No, I'm definitely gonna eat this. My mind was only processing what just happened." Looking down at the cute Totoro cream puff, Yumiko brought it up to her lips and carefully took a bite. She moaned at the light crispy dough and the abundance of creamy green tea that oozed into her mouth.

"Yeah, I can't believe the shy kid we helped out earlier was actually the boss' son's mate. I mean, WOW." Arata agreed, shaking his head in amusement.

Taking the last bite of her cream puff, Yumiko said, "You should never judge a book by the cover after all."

Arata sighed. "Don't I know it. Oh, hey- hold still for a sec." Yumiko froze when Arata leaned in close and wiped up some leftover cream that was on her cheek with his thumb. "Okay, got it." He grinned before going back to his desk.

Yumiko smiled to herself as she also went back to do her work.

Today was definitely the best day at work that Yumiko had so far.


	12. Chapter 12

## A Batch Of Green Tea Cookies

"ARF! ARF!"

Kouki jumped up in his seat, opening his eyes and hand reaching up to calm his thumping heart as he turned to see a certain puppy with familiar blue eyes barking at him, happily reaching up to give his cheek a lick.

"Nigou! You scared me." Kouki couldn't help but giggle when Seirin's mascot gave another cheerful bark and licked the peak of the omega's nose before Kuroko (who had been the one holding the puppy up to Kouki's face in the first place) put the puppy back onto his own lap.

"Excuse me Furihata-kun, but I just wanted to let you know that we have arrived." Kuroko informed him, looking apologetic for waking the omega up from his nap.

Kouki yawned as he waved the apology off. "Ah, it's okay Kuroko. Thank you for letting me know that we're here. Besides, waking up to someone as cute as Nigou isn't a bad way to wake up at all." The brunette cooed as he patted the exuberant little puppy.

Kuroko gave him one of his rare smiles before looking down to scratch their mascot's ear.

The Seirin basketball team were currently in Minakami, a town in the Gunma prefecture, for their 5-days and 4-nights training camp.

Minakami was a town known to be very mountainous. Due to this, it made the perfect location to hold their camp.

The team would be staying in a remote training center, newly renovated, located deep in the mountains and surrounded by trees and mother nature herself.

When the bus was parked and they were all out and stretching their tired limbs, the boys froze as they heard their Coach yelling from inside the building (she had gone in first to check them in).

They watched as their small but feisty coach stomped her way towards them, a large irritated tick on her forehead.

"What's wrong, Riko?" Hyuuga asked warily.

Riko huffed, glaring back at the building. "I just found out that apparently we're not the only school here for training. This is ridiculous- how will we be able to fully train with our enemies nearby?" She shook her head.

"There are other schools here?" Koganei asked. He paused as he listened to what Mitobe was 'telling' him from the side. "Yeah, Mitobe has a point- since this place is HUGE, we can just train away in the woods like last time." He suggested, remembering their previous camps where the coach's father made them play an intense game of cops and robbers.

Riko sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I had already planned that would be the best route for us. But it's so disappointing that we won't be able to have much time inside the camp's gym- one of the other schools already pre-scheduled majority of their time there." She grumbled, cursing herself for not thinking ahead.

"By the way, who are the other schools that are here?" Kiyoshi questioned, shifting his backpack onto his other shoulder.

Before Riko could answer, a familiar voice called out to them. "Ehh? Isn't that Seirin?" The Seirin members all turned to see the entire team of Shuutoku walking out to meet them. The one who had spoken was Takao Kazunari, beta and holder of the hawk eye. "Don't tell me we'll be training at the same place again? Hahaha...how fun!" Takao laughed, grinning at them.

"It's good to see you again, Riko-san. It's good that you're growing up to be so much like your mother and nothing like that no good father of yours." Shuutoku's coach, Nakatani Masaaki greeted.

Riko gave him a respectful bow. "It's nice to see you again too, Nakatani-san. So I assume that you're also aware about the camp's mix up about booking three schools at the same time?"

Nakatani nodded. "I'm afraid so. The other school is on their way out here as we speak- we need to discuss the room assignments."

"Gyaaahh....I can't believe that Shuutoku is here!" Kagami groused, also not liking the fact that they were going to have to stay in the same place as them yet again.

"You are not the only one appalled by this arrangement." Midorima grimaced.

Takao laughed once more. "I'm actually totally okay with this. The next five days is gonna be crazy! I mean, just imagine- Shuutoku, Seirin and Rakuzan all in the same place! Things are gonna get wild!"

Midorima rolled his eyes as he glared his teammate. "Shut up, Takao."

Kagami on the other hand blanched as he heard what the dark-haired beta had said. "Wait, did you just say Rakuzan was here?"

Before anyone could say anything, the entire Rakuzan team chose that moment to finally make their appearance as they walked outside to greet everyone.

"I apologize for the wait- we were filling our names on the attendance sheet and we had to make sure all of our players were present." Rakuzan's coach, Shirogane Eiji, explained as he made his way towards Nakatani and Riko.

"Yo! So the third team here is Seirin after all. I knew I could hear my Shun's voice!" Hayama yelled out, waving at all of them.

"Ah, Kota! I guess you had to take a 'train here' to 'train here'." Izuki commented, grinning as his boyfriend laughed boisterously at his pun and at the same time, successfully dodging the drop kick that Hyuuga tried to give him.

"Shut up Izuki!" Hyuuga shouted. Pointing a finger at the blonde beta, he yelled, "And you! He may be your boyfriend but don't encourage his behavior!"

Hayama merely winked, already used to the Seein captain's temper. "But I love his puns. I can't wait to hear more during this camp!" Hayama gushed to his boyfriend. Hyuuga groaned in defeat as Izuki had a completely satisfied look on his face as he gave the blonde a thankful and bit shy kiss.

Kouki, who had been discussing a newly released novel with Kuroko while playing with Nigou at the same time as everyone was talking, perked up when he saw a head of familiar bright red hair. "Ah, Sei! What are you doing here?"

Seijuurou had immediately spotted his mate when he exited the building and made a beeline straight towards the brunette. "Kouki, what a pleasant surprise. Are you also training here as well?" He smiled gently as he wrapped his arm around the other's waist and gave him a greeting kiss on the lips.

Kouki grinned as he gave the other a big hug. "Yeah, we're here for five days. But what are you doing here- I thought you said that your team was planning their camp in Matsumoto?"

Seijuurou sighed, "We were but there was a mix up with our reservations and had to transfer to somewhere else. We were recommended to come here since we were told that the facilities had been newly renovated." He explained.

"It's not fair that Rakuzan gets the most use of the indoor gym's facilities." Riko complained.

"I'm sorry, but we did reserve the time beforehand after all." Shirogane politely reminded her.

Riko sighed. "Yeah, I know. If only I knew that we wouldn't be the only team here, then I would have also scheduled us some gym time."

"Is your team going to be using the gym full-time?" Nakatani was frowning as well since he also hadn't thought to make any reservations.

Shirogane shook his head. "Only during the afternoons and evenings. We shall be training in the north area of the mountains during mornings." He informed them.

"I call the gym in the mornings then!" Riko immediately called it.

"What about Shuutoku?" Nakatani demanded.

Riko thought about it for a minute. "I guess we can split the gym during the mornings. Since Seirin doesn't have as much players as Shuutoku or Rakuzan, I'm sure they'll be enough room for everyone." She compromised. Even though Seirin received a nice amount of new players since winning the winter cup, their number was still about half of those from the other two schools.

Nakatani observed all their players as he thought about this arrangement before agreeing. "Alright, we'll share the gym with Seirin in the mornings and then Shuutoku shall train in the south area of the mountains."

"We'll take the east area, then." Riko nodded.

"Now all we have to do is figure out the room assignments." Shirogane said. "How do you suppose we split all our teams into twenty rooms- not including the rooms for the coaches and managers after all."

"Leave it to me." Riko assured her fellow two coaches. She faced the large group of boys who were chatting among themselves. Placing her pink whistle between her lips, she gave a harsh blow, the deafening sound shutting up any talking and putting all attention on her.

Putting her hands on her hips, Riko gave them all a wide grin. "Okay, listen up Seirin, Shuutoku and Rakuzan. I'm sure you've all been informed that we will be cooped up together in this camp for the next five days and four nights. Since we can do nothing about it, we'll all just have to suck it up and deal with it." She told them, smiling.

There were some grumbling from some of the other boys (mainly the first years since the second and third years were actually on friendly terms with one another) which made Riko's smile turn a bit too sweet as she said, "And of course, anyone who has complaints about our arrangements will have to take it up with me, ne?" All the boys cowered in fright when they saw her terrifying expression and heard the scary cracking of knuckles that the small brunette was giving them. "Now, will we be having any problems?"

"NO MA'AM!" All the boys yelled, standing up straight and proper.

Riko's threatening stance softened once more as she beamed brightly at all of them. Her fellow two coaches merely stood behind her, giving the small brunette impressed looks.

"Okay, now us coaches have already discussed the schedule involving the gym facilities. Since Rakuzan did make a reservation for the gym beforehand, they will have it during afternoons and evenings. Seirin and Shuutoku shall be sharing the gym in the mornings which should be no problem since Seirin doesn't have as much members as Shuutoku and the gym is quite big. Any complaints so far?"

When she got nothing but silence, the brunette continued. "Good. Now, we'll be deciding the room arrangements. There's about twenty available rooms for all the players and we have about eighty of you all in all. That means there will be four to each room. To make it fair to everyone, I'll have everyone's names written onto pieces of paper and I'll randomly draw out the roommates." She explained.

After everyone agreed with the plan, the draw of who would be staying together in what room began.

"What the hell? You can't be serious! I want a do-over!" Kagami demanded, crumpling his empty bread wrapper in his hand.

"It's not like I want to be in the same room as you either, nanodayo." Midorima shook his head. Kagami glared fiercely at him back.

"Ooh~ this will be so much fun, ne Sei-chan?" Mibuchi squealed excitedly, also placed in the same room as Kagami and Midorima. And together with Rakuzan's captain, everyone knew that their room was going to be very...interesting.

"It'll be quite the experience indeed, Reo." Seijuurou agreed, smiling gently. Truthfully, he was a bit disappointed to not be sharing a room with his Kouki. Riko had explained that boyfriends (even bond mates) were prohibited from staying in the same room together during camp.

His omega gave him a small kiss on the lips, reading the redhead's mind. "It's okay Sei. It wouldn't be very appropriate if we were placed in the same room together." He pointed out.

The alpha smiled at him and they exchanged a longer kiss this time. "You are right, my love. I supposed we'll see each other during meal times." Leaning close to the other's ear and also scenting his omega, he quietly whispered, "And they have not said anything about sharing the bath times being prohibited."

Kouki giggled as he lightly smacked the redhead's shoulder, nuzzling into his neck as he also scented the other as well. "Yeah, I'll definitely find time to come visit you." He promised shyly.

At the same time, Riko was currently hitting Kagami on the head with her trusty old paper fan. "No changes, Bakagami! Whatever room you get, you stick with. So just keep your mouth shut and deal with it." Riko barked at her player.

"But Coach..." Kagami whined, rubbing his aching head.

"I'll put you in one of my famous Boston crab holds..." Riko said threateningly.

Kagami gulped as he raised his hands, shaking his head. "I'll stick with room 7." He sighed, giving up.

Takao grinned when his room was called. "Well, I'm good with my roommates."

Kouki smiled as he nodded. He was assigned to room 10 together with Takao, Kuroko and Hayama. He was relieved since he was close to both Kuroko and Hayama and Takao seemed friendly enough.

When all the rooms were called, the coaches decided to gather each of their players and give them all instructions about their schedules for tomorrow- they decided that everyone would still be quite tired from their trip so they would start training the next day instead.

"Okay, you guys will be given time to yourselves for today. So I suggest you get acquainted with this place so none of you get lost and make sure you rest up for tomorrow. Bedtime is at 10:00pm. Training starts at 7:00am sharp, understand?" When her team nodded, she continued. "As for meals, this camp unfortunately isn't providing any- all the kitchen staff are on vacation. But we have gotten permission to use their kitchens ourselves during this camp."

"Oh God...don't tell me..." Kawahara whispered under his breath, everyone else on the Seirin team also starting to feel dread at what was about to be said.

"And since I'll make sure to work you guys so hard that you'll be having trouble even sucking through a straw, I'll of course be the one to provide your meals during this training camp." Riko's dreaded words finally came out.

The screams and looks of horror on Seirin's faces alarmed the other teams who were also nearby in their own meetings. "Now, Coach, let's just think about this for a sec." Hyuuga started, trying to think of a way out of the situation.

"Riko, what will the other teams be doing for their meals?" Kiyoshi asked, smiling like usual but there was an underlying strain in it.

The brunette frowned at her guys reactions but answered, "If I heard correctly, Shuutoku's manager, Ootsubo Tae-chan will be cooking her team's meals. And Rakuzan has ordered catering from a nearby restaurant in town that will be bringing their meals here daily."

Koganei groaned when he heard about Rakuzan's catered meals. "Damn rich schools." Mitobe patted his shoulder, trying to cheer him up.

"Coach, I can cook for us- there's no problem at all." Kouki offered, not wanting a repeat at what happened at their last camp. The team literally died after every meal- they scared everyone on the Shuutoku team when they saw the bodies of Seirin lying around the dining room three times a day.

Riko frowned at them all. "What's wrong with me cooking?" All of the guys froze, not wanting to be killed for speaking up.

"There's nothing wrong, but maybe we should let Kagami and Furi cook just for tonight since training hasn't started yet." Hyuuga suggested carefully, trying to appease their coach.

"Yeah, you should also take it easy tonight Coach- you also must be tired from the long trip here." Izuki added. They knew that Riko didn't sleep during their rides- she insisted on being awake and staying alert in case anything happened.

Kagami nodded. "I slept the entire ride so I'm as good as rain right now. Just leave dinner to me and Furi." Even if they could postpone their Coach's meals for even one meal, that was a victory in itself. They would have to figure out a game plan for the rest of the camp later tonight.

Riko still looked suspicious at her sweating players but sighed as she finally conceded. "Okay, fine. Kagami and Furi will be in charge of dinner tonight. But make sure you don't tire yourselves out, huh? The budget for dinner is here." She handed Kouki some yen bills. "Since the kitchens are not stocked, you'll have to walk down to the grocery store about half a mile away and go shopping for ingredients. Just buy enough for dinner and breakfast tomorrow- we can buy the rest of what we'll need tomorrow."

Kouki nodded. "Just leave it to us, Coach."

Nodding her head, she turned to face the rest of the team. "Dinner will be served at 7:00pm sharp. And remember, if you're late and miss any of the meals during this camp, I'll give you extra laps tomorrow." She threatened, making everyone gulp. During their previous camps, some of the players tried to skip the meals on purpose, which was why Riko created this rule to prevent starvation among her team (though most of the players would argue that they preferred the death of starvation over death of food poisoning any day).

As everyone went their separate ways, Kouki and Kagami decided to head to the kitchens to see what equipment would be available for them to cook with (Kuroko offered to take Kouki's bag to their room while Hyuuga and Izuki took Kagami's since they were next door neighbors.

"What do you feel like making, Furi?" Kagami questioned, as they walked towards the kitchens which was located at the back of the building.

Kouki pursed his lips as he thought for a moment. "Well, we still have to make the trip to the grocery store for ingredients and come back which means we'll have less than an hour to prep and cook for dinner. I think should make something quick but filling." He told the other.

The redhead alpha nodded, agreeing with his friend. "You're right. This may also be the only time during this camp where we'll get to eat a decent meal." He shuddered as he was reminded as Riko's previous hotpot. "Hmm...maybe we should make- Ah, sorry!" Kagami apologized when he accidentally bumped into someone.

"No, it's my fault for not looking at where I was going. I apologize." Ootsubo Tae-san, Shuutoku's beta manager, quickly replied as she bowed down,

Kagami waved it away. "I wasn't looking where I was going neither so it's both of our faults. Let's just call it even then." Tae smiled in relief as she nodded.

Kouki looked at the Shuutoku's manager and asked, "Are you perhaps heading towards the kitchens as well, Ootsubo-san?"

She smiled at him as she replied, "Please feel free to call me Tae. Yes. I'm in charge of the meals so I just wanted to check the layout of the kitchen. Actually, I was wondering if I could also join the two of you in buying some groceries- I have my team's money budget with me right now."

Kagami shrugged. "Sure, feel free to tag along. We're also gonna check out the kitchens first before going out."

Tae's smile turned a bit shy as she gazed at Kagami, making Kouki raise his eyebrow slightly when he noticed. He made a mental note at that.

When they got to the kitchen, the trio were pleased at how clean, spacious and well-equipped it was.

There were three ovens with four stoves each, a very large refrigerator and freezer (which they agreed to split right down the middle, so their ingredients wouldn't get messed up), plenty of cabinets for storage and various kitchen equipment like blenders, mixers, pots, pans, kitchen tools and even available dishes, glasses and cutlery for them to use.

"I don't think we'll have a problem cooking our meals in here." Kouki said in relief, opening the refrigerator.

Tae beamed as she checked the empty cabinets. "This kitchen is wonderful."

After giving the kitchen their approval and checking that everything worked properly, the three made their way towards the nearest grocery store which was still half a mile away from the camp.

They chatted among themselves and the boys learned that Tae was not only the manager of Shuutoku but she was also in the Home EC club and was actually planning on opening her own family restaurant one day (Both boys were jealous that Shuutoku's only girl was a great cook while their only girl tended to poison them with her own cooking).

Making it to the store (which was small but stocked with a large variety of ingredients) Tae hummed as she looked at the chicken, "I think I'll make oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowls) for the team. I'll separate the chicken and egg topping and add it on the rice when it's time for serving."

Kouki nodded, "That sounds good." Checking the protein available, the brunette noted that the beef was on sale at half-price. "Kagami, why don't we make gyūdon (beef rice bowls) for tonight? It's quick to make and the beef is on sale which is good for the budget."

Kagami, who had been getting the rice for them, checked the beef that was on display. "Are you sure? It looks a bit tough, don't cha think?"

Kouki tilted his head at that. "Maybe, but I'm sure I'll be able to tenderize it by using a vinegar-based marinade that I make- it'll just take maybe fifteen minutes at most and it'll definitely be soft. The beef looks good otherwise and since it's cheap, we'll be able to buy some eggs to top the beef bowl with and I think I can even add some miso soup on the side." The omega explained.

Kagami picked up the beef to check it closely before nodding his head. "Okay, I'll trust you on this Furi."

As they gathered the rest of the ingredients, the boys decided to have tamago kake gohan for breakfast tomorrow. It was a cheap and simple breakfast that would ensure that Riko could not screw up.

After all, it was only cooked rice mixed with a raw egg, topped with soy sauce as an option. And Kagami would make sure to time the rice cooker the night before so Riko wouldn't have to cook anything at all.

And they would make it so that they could serve breakfast themselves- making sure that their coach wouldn't have serve them their rice and try to sneak in supplements. Again.

As they paid for their ingredients, they noticed that the shop keeper giving Kouki small looks. "Um, yes?" Kouki asked hesitantly when the old woman gave him yet another strange look.

"You are an omega, am I right?" The old lady asked, pausing at scanning the bag of onions in her hands.

Kouki nodded slowly. "Yes, I am." Since his bonding, there was no need for him to wear any suppressants or scent-blockers anymore.

The old lady made a humming sound as she finished scanning the rest of their groceries and gave told them their total costs. "It's quite rare for there to be an omega, let alone a male one, in this town. Where are you children staying at, if I may ask?" She inquired.

Kagami was the one to answer this time as Kouki went to pay for the food. "We're part of the basketball team and we're here for training camp. We're staying at the training center about half a mile away from here."

The old lady's eyes widened as she handed them their receipt and change and she further questioned, "Are you staying at that newly renovated building that's deep in the mountains?"

Kouki answered, looking unsure at where this was going. "Um...yes?"

The old woman shook her head frantically, giving Kouki a fearful look, which started to make the brunette panic as well. "Listen child, you mustn't stay there. Go home now before it's too late."

Tae looked worried too, carrying some of her groceries while Kagami carried the rest of the heavy items for her. "What do you mean, Obaa-san?"

But the old lady kept her focus on Kouki as she told him fiercely, "You must leave that place immediately. No omega is safe there, especially male omegas."

Kagami frowned, not liking how scared his fellow teammate was looking. "Look lady, can you just tell us what the hell you're talking about?" He demanded.

The old lady shook her head, hands visibly trembling now. "A long time ago, the training center used to be a very large mansion. The mansion was the home of a very wealthy family. The family had only one heir- an omega son who was known to be very handsome and well-admired by all those around him. All the women vied for his hand, but the boy only had one girl in his heart- the alpha daughter of one of the mansion's cooks. Due to their different economic and social statuses, the boy and girl decided to keep their relationship secret and quickly began to fall in love.

"Every night, the boy would secretly sneak into the kitchen and together with the girl, they would chat and laugh with one another while baking their favorite sweets- green tea cookies.

"Unfortunately, they were caught together one night. The boy's parents were furious and soon banished the girl and her family from the mansion and immediately set the boy up for marriage to a daughter of another wealthy family. Distraught, the boy and the girl ran away and ended up throwing themselves into the river that used to be behind the mansion- as far as I know, it's been dried up for years now.

"However, only the girl died. The boy survived and ended up marrying the woman that his family had wanted. A few years later, there was a mysterious fire that completely burned down the mansion, killing everyone inside- including the male omega. People say that it was the ghost of his former lover that had caused it as her revenge.

"Ever since then, they say that the girl's spirit haunts that place to this very day. People have spotted the girl roaming around the place where the river used to be and some even say that if you're unlucky and get caught, she'll drag you into the very river where she died and drown you. And she's especially ruthless against omegas and holds a deep grudge against them because her former lover was one. All of the omegas that used to live or had visited this town had moved away due to this."

The old lady grabbed onto Kouki's shoulders and clutched him tightly, making the omega winced at her sharp nails. "Do not stay at that center. Take your things and leave immediately or bad things will happen to you."

Kouki was completely shivering in fright as he looked at her with wide eyes, too scared to say anything as the woman kept giving him her warnings.

Kagami was pissed at this point. He himself was a firm scaredy cat about anything concerning the supernatural (though he'd die before he tell anyone) but he hated anyone causing trouble to Seirin team's only omega.

He grabbed the rest of their groceries and started to pull both Kouki and Tae towards the exit. "Okay, we've heard enough of your little story. Furi will be super careful from now on. Now we really have to leave. Thanks for the groceries!" He called out quickly, making their way out.

"Heed my words- you mustn't stay there, especially overnight. Since you are a male omega she will surely see you as her former lover and take her revenge on you. You will die if you go back there!" The old woman yelled after them, her warnings slowly fading as they got farther and farther away.

"Yeah, yeah." Kagami mumbled under his breath as the trio hightailed it out of there.

As they began to trek home, both Kagami and Tae looked worriedly at the scared shitless Kouki. The brunette was sweating buckets as his wide eyes darted around the area in fear.

"Are you alright, Furihata-kun?" Tae asked softly, walking closer to the brunette to offer some comfort.

Kouki immediately shook his head. "M-maybe I should tell C-coach that I'm n-not f-feeling well and should just g-g-go home." He suggested shakily.

Kagami gave his teammate reassuring pats on the back. "What are you talking about, Furi? Don't tell me you actually believe that baa-san's story, do you? You shouldn't believe in her crap."

Tae nodded as she told the omega in her soothing voice, "It's probably an urban legend that the townspeople likes to tell the tourists in order to scare them. Please do not think much about it, Furihata-kun."

Kouki still looked worried, but at least he looked a bit calmer. "But don't you think she looked very serious just now?"

Kagami snorted. "That shopkeeper's obviously getting up there in age- you know how old people can get. Anyway, don't worry Furi- her story was complete bull and there's nothing that's gonna happen to you at the camp. Besides, you know that Seirin always has your back, right?" Kouki gave a small smile and nodded a bit.

Deciding to change the subject, the alpha asked Tae if she could do Seirin a favor and keep her eye on Coach Riko in the kitchen when she starts cooking their meals starting tomorrow. And if the Shuutoku manager ever spots any container with the words 'Protein' or 'Supplements' on them that are just lying around on the counters or wherever, to hurriedly THROW THAT SHIT AWAY.

The old woman's scary story was soon forgotten as Tae told them some funny stories involving the Shuutoku team. Even Kouki couldn't help but laugh when she told them the story of the time she helped Midorima bake a strawberry cake and how he caused the entire Home EC kitchen to be covered with exploded cake batter.

"Why did he want to bake a cake in the first place?" Kouki chuckled, balancing the bags in his hands that he finally took off of Kagami to lessen the other's burden.

Tae chuckled as she told them in a soft voice, "Shh! It's a secret but he was trying to bake the cake for Takao-kun. He didn't exactly say so- telling me that it was his lucky item- but Takao-kun's birthday was coming up and everyone knows that his favorite cake is strawberry after all." She winked at them. "In the end, we finally ended up making a slightly lopsided but quite tasty cake for Takao-kun. Later on, I saw Midorima-kun giving it to Takao-kun after school and he said that he had bought it, but I'm sure Takao-kun knew the truth."

Kagami shook his head, "And that green-headed idiot still denies that he's got a thing for that hawk guy, huh?"

"Midorima's a good guy- he's just a bit shy with his feelings." Kouki defended the miracle. He considered the other as a friend as they would meet up at times and discuss Oha Asa and fortune telling (Mibuchi would also be present via video call since he was also a part of their little 'horoscope' club).

Tae giggled more as she nodded. "Midorima-kun is quite the tsundere, indeed."

Making their way back to the camp, they had about forty-five minutes before dinner would be served.

Tae began making Shuutoku's oyakodon while Kagami and Kouki prepared their gyūdon and miso soup.

As Kagami cut the onions and beef, Kouki began to make the simple marinade that would be used to tenderize the somewhat tough beef that they bought.

Leaving the gyūdon with Kagami, Kouki began cooking his simple miso soup containing dashi stock, miso paste, wakame seaweed, tofu cubes and some sliced daikon as well.

As the soup simmered on the stove, Kouki looked around to see what he could do next.

As Kagami started to pour the marinade over the beef to tenderize it for fifteen minutes, he noticed Kouki taking a large bowl of green dough out of the fridge. "What are you doing with that, Furi?" He asked, curiously.

Giving the redhead a short but strangely vacant glance, Kouki replied in a somewhat bland voice. "I'm baking cookies."

Kagami's eyebrows raised at this. "Where did you get the ingredients for cookies?" They had used up all of the budget their coach had given them on the gyūdon, miso soup and tomorrow's rice and egg dish. They didn't have extra money to buy the ingredients for cookies.

"I found them in the back of the cabinets." Kouki replied, rolling out the dough to make it 1/4" thick.

Cracking eggs inside her bowl, Tae also frowned at that. "You did? But when we checked the cabinets earlier, they were completely empty."

Kouki shrugged, focused on cutting the dough out into tiny uniformed squares. "You probably didn't look hard enough."

"Wait, when did you find the time to make the dough? It looks like it's been chilled for a while and we've only started cooking like ten minutes ago." Kagami pointed out.

"My dough chills fast." That was the brunette's short answer as he placed the cookies onto the baking sheet pan and baked the cookies in the preheated oven at 175°C for 10-13 minutes.

Shrugging, Kagami focused back onto his dish, cooking the onions and beef and adding dashi, soy sauce and mirin into the pan. He decided to follow Tae in serving the beef topping separately until it was ready to consume- he would then add it ontop the rice then.

When the cookies were done, Kouki took them out of the oven to cool on the cookie rack. As the cookies cooled, Kouki melted some white chocolate to place between two of the cookies, making small sandwich cookies.

When Tae was finished with her meal, she went to check on what Kouki was making. "What kind of cookies did you bake?" She asked curiously.

"Green tea cookies." Kouki said in that same strange bland tone of voice.

Tae's eyes widened at that. "Green tea cookies? Aren't those the kinds of cookies that the shopkeeper from back at the store told us that the guy used to bake together with his former lover?"

Kagami guffawed when he heard this. "Yeah, that's right. Well, way to face your fears, Furi! Don't mind that old lady's words and just bake those cookies."

Tae looked worried as she watched Kouki assembling the sandwich cookies. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

Kagami laughed, adding the eggs on top the beef and onion mixture. "Everything will be fine. Furi's known for his green tea treats like his green tea cupcakes or his green tea breads." Kouki kept quiet as he focused solely on his cookies.

When all the food was finally finished, it was exactly 7:00pm sharp so they decided to deliver their food directly to the dining room.

All the teams were already there when they arrived- each team had their own table for themselves. Rakuzan were also distributing their expensive-looking bentos amongst their members when the trio walked in.

"It smells great, guys!" Koganei complimented, looking inside the pots they brought.

"What are we having?" Tsuchida asked politely.

"Kagami and I decided on cooking gyūdon and miso soup for dinner. Alhough it was really Kagami who made the gyūdon. I only made the soup." Kouki admitted sheepishly.

Kagami laughed at he patted the other's back. "Nonsense Furi- it was a partnership! The marinade you made to soften the beef is what really makes this dish great. And the soup you made is delicious!"

Taking a small sip of the soup that was served to them, Kuroko nodded. "Kagami-kun is right, Furihata-kun. The soup is well seasoned and warm."

Kouki blushed at their praise. "Thank you Kuroko, Kagami. Please have some more then!"

As the entire Seirin team enjoyed their meals, they decided to devise a plan in stopping their Coach's horrible cooking (all the coaches and managers were having their meals in a separate room from the players).

Kagami told them that he might have figured a way out- he had asked a favor of Shuutoku's manager to 'watch over' Riko's meals. The team agreed that this would be the best course of action and hopefully would prevent any food poisoning in the upcoming days of camp.

At the end of dinner, Kagami asked Kouki about the cookies he had baked earlier. Kouki looked at the redhead in confusion. "Cookies? What cookies?"

Kagami frowned as he gestured towards the large container of green tea cookies that were sitting next to the pickled ginger and shichimi (ground chili pepper) on the table. "Those are the cookies you made for dessert, right?"

Kouki blinked and he looked owlishly at the cookies. "I baked those?"

Kagami nodded. "Yeah, and you had a very serious look when you were baking them- you were really trying to make them perfect."

Kouki's tilted his head as he thought about it. "Hmm, I don't really remember though. I'm not even sure if I even memorized the recipe for any cookies- I usually have a recipe sheet with me when it comes to baking since everything has to be exact."

"Well, it doesn't matter- these looks quite delicious. Let's dig in!" Kiyoshi suggested, everyone reaching for some of the cookies.

"Mmm! These are so good!" Kawahara mumbled, stuffing another cookie into his mouth.

"They're thin and crispy and the chocolate in the middle just melts in your mouth." Fukuda complimented.

Kouki gave a small smile as he bit into his own cookie.

After their meal and baths, the guys all went into their assigned rooms for the night.

"Lets tell some scary stories!" Hayama yelled, bouncing up and down on his futon like an elementary student.

Takao laughed loudly as he clapped. "I second the notion!"

Kouki hugged his pillow to himself and he shyly said, "But aren't we supposed to be getting ready to sleep?"

Kuroko watched them all blankly from his own futon, his usual blank expression on his face. "I think a few stories should be okay. Who will start first?"

Hayama raised his hand. "Since it was my idea, I'll go!"

Kouki stiffened a bit but relaxed when Kuroko sat besides him. Takao also decided to follow and he grinned at them as he plodded himself onto the omega's futon. Kouki smiled as he found their warmth comforting. Unsurprisingly, Kouki was pretty bad when it came to scary stuff.

Hayama grinned from his bed as he began his story.

"You've all heard of Hanako-san right? Well, in Rakuzan we have something like that but she goes by the name of Reiko-san.

"In the third floor of the science building, there's a restroom there with only three stalls. That's where Reiko-san is. One night, some of my classmates decided to summon her. They dared this boastful guy to go into the bathroom alone, with the door shut and lights closed as the rest of the group waited outside.

"So the guy goes inside and locks the door. Acting like a hotshot, he turned all the lights off and sauntered his way to where he knew was the third stall. He loudly knocked the door three times, calling out in a loud voice so the others outside could hear him and said, "Are you there, Reiko-san?" Kouki stared at Hayama with wide eyes as Kuroko gently patted his back and Takao was quietly chuckling during the whole thing.

"The guy then jumped back in shock when he heard the sound of a girl's voice reply back, "Yes! I'm here~" Thinking it to be a prank by one of his friends, the guy only grinned and laughed, "Okay. Then excuse me while I come in!"

"But when the guy pulled open the stall, even though it was dark, he saw the outline of a short, young girl with short curly hair and a long skirt. But what caught his attention were her large glowing bloodred eyes that looked to be mocking him. He then felt a slender hand grab at his shirt sleeve and start to pull him into the stall.

"His friends jumped at the sound of his scream. They kicked down the door and turned on the lights. But when they went in to check, there was no trace of anyone inside the bathroom at all."

Hayama grinned as he sat onto his futon. "And we never heard from that guy again. I still remember there being a huge fuss from the police coming to the school for investigation and all of that."

Takao laughed as he clapped his hands. "Wouldn't it be fun if we tried it here? We can go into the bathroom and turn all the lights out. Then we can knock on the third stall and ask if Hanako-san is there." He suggested.

"No!" Kouki yelled, shaking his head frantically.

Kuroko patted the other's back. "Don't worry, Furihata-kun. I'm sure Takao-kun isn't serious."

Takao and Hayama exchanged a mischievous grin between them before Takao stood up. "Okay! It's my turn to tell a story!"

"You can come here- I wanna sit next to Furi and Kuroko!" Hayama chirped, getting up and plopping himself down next to the shivering brunette.

Takao sat on Hayama's bed and gave them all his signature smirk.

"Okay, this is the story of when I met the Kuchisake-onna (Split Mouth Woman).

"One night, I was walking on my way home and I didn't have my rickshaw at the time since it was getting repaired- one of the wheels were getting loose and needed to be tightened.

"There's a shortcut to my house- you can cross through the park to get to my house quicker. So since it was late at night, I was pretty much the only one in the park.

"Halfway through, I suddenly noticed a woman coming my way. She looked really suspicious dressed in a trench coat and she wore a surgical mask that covered the bottom half of her face. She had long black hair that kinda curtained her face so I couldn't really see how she looked. Now that I think of it, she basically looked like a yankee.

"When she was a few feet away from me, she asked me in a soft voice, "Am I beautiful?"

"Now, when I told this story to my friends later on, they said that I had met with the Kuchisake-onna. If I had answered, "no" then she would have taken out her large scissors and sliced my head off.

"Thankfully, my parents raised me somewhat right and at the time I had answered politely, "Yes". The lady then removed her mask and I saw the most grotesquely mutilated face ever! Her smile stretched eerily from ear to ear as she asked me again, "Am I still beautiful?"

"My friends told me if I had answered, "no" she would have taken out her scissors and chase me down and cut me in half. But if I had answered, "yes"...well, she still would have killed me. Women are kind of fickle that way.

"So you're probably wondering what my answer was since I'm still in one piece right now?

"Well, I gave her a good look and I told her my honest opinion- "Ah, you're so-so I guess." What? I'm not into girls anyway!" The other three guys laughed at Takao's answer- even Kuroko was chuckling since the reply was so Takao-like.

Takao laughed along with them as he finished the rest of his story, "The Kuchisake-onna looked confused since I didn't really give her a definite yes or no answer. I took her moment of hesitation to run the hell out of there- never once looking back even when I heard the sound of scissors snipping behind me. And after that, I never saw her again."

Takao sat back and grinned, feeling accomplished at what he knew was a great story.

Kouki was giggling- he had been terrified at the beginning of the story but the ending was just too funny.

Hayama sighed, wiping away the tears from laughing too hard from his eyes. "Haah...that was great, man."

"I'm strangely reminded of Akashi-kun after hearing that story." Kuroko commented.

Kouki heard what the blunette said and laughed even harder.

Takao beamed proudly. "Okay, who's next?"

Kuroko stood up, shocking both Kouki and Hayama who forgot for a second that the blunette was next to them in the first place. "I'll go." He volunteered.

Kuroko and Takao switched places. Everyone watched as Kuroko gently sat on his knees on the bed, and gave them all a solemn look as he began his story.

"One evening, I was typing up my english assignment on my laptop. Since it was raining heavily at the time, I made sure my computer was fully charged since I didn't want the battery to run out if a blackout were to occur.

"As I finished my assignment, I decided to spend some time to read a few stories online."

Hayama chirped in, "Yeah, I'm a huge fan of FanFiction also. It's like getting millions of books for free!"

Kouki nodded, bashfully. "I read them too."

Takao grinned. "I highly recommend AO3 or fanfiction.net."

Kuroko smiled slightly as he continued his story. "As I was reading a particularly interesting story, the electricity had come off. Thankfully, I was prepared so my laptop was still running.

"My room was quite dark due to the blackout- the only light coming from my computer screen. As I continued to read on, I noticed something strange.

"When you read something on your computer or even your phone or tablet, you can sometimes see yourself reflected back on the screen. When I looked at my laptop, I noticed a dark shadow appearing behind my shoulder. So I looked back to see what it was."

"No! You're never supposed to look behind you in that kind of situation!" Hayama yelled, both Kouki and Takao nodding besides him.

The blue-haired beta merely blinked at them. "I was not aware of this rule. I apologize. As I was saying, I looked behind me and saw nothing there.

"And then, when I looked back towards my computer screen, IT had appeared right on top of my keyboard..."

"ARF! ARF!"

The three on the futon jumped up and screamed when they were suddenly attacked by a small furry black ball.

The furry thing was now on top of a screaming Takao. "Oh my god! I'm gonna die! Someone help me! I'm being...licked to death?" Takao's shouts stopped when he finally caught a good glimpse at what was on top of him.

"Eh, it's only Nigou." Kouki sighed in relief as Kuroko reached up to retrieve Seirin's mascot.

"My god, I thought my heart was gonna give out." Hayama complained, trying to calm his pounding heart.

Kuroko snuggled with the cute little puppy as he apologized. "I'm sorry, Nigou must have gotten a bit too excited again."

"So I'm assuming that it was also your dog that was in the story?" Takao said wryly, looking at the smiling little husky.

Kuroko nodded. "You are correct. I was also taken quite aback when I had finally recognized him."

Hayama sighed as he grabbed his pillow and hugged it to him. "Okay, that means Furi's story is last!"

Kouki panicked as he shook his head. "But I don't really know any stories."

"I'm sure anything will be fine, Furihata-kun. You can even make one up or use an urban legend that you might have heard of before." The blunette suggested.

Kouki bit his lip as he recalled something. "Well, I did hear something when I went grocery shopping with Kagami and Tae-san earlier."

The brunette then proceeded in telling his roommates about the story that he was told earlier and the old woman's warnings to him about not staying at the camp before something bad happened to him.

After his story, Hayama shivered a bit. "That is scary. I mean, since we're actually inside what used to be the mansion itself makes it even more real."

Kuroko nodded. "But I'm sure there'll be nothing to worry about, Furihata-kun."

Takao winked as he gave the omega a thumbs up. "Just leave any ghosts-holding grudges to us! If bad things start to happen to you, we'll deal with it. We'll be like your bodyguards, Furi."

Hayama grinned as he added, "Yup! We should be called The Omega Protection Squad!"

Kuroko deadpanned at that. "That is a horrible name."

Hayama whined. "Kuroko! How can you say that so bluntly? You're reminding me of Mayuzumi!"

Takao laughed. "Hahaha! I don't know about you guys, but I have a feeling that the Omega Protection Squad is going to be epic!" Kouki smiled, feeling much better knowing that the others had his back.

The four roommates continued to chat amongst themselves, enjoying each other's company until a knock on their door and Coach Nakatani peered inside informing them it was time to turn in.

As they all told each other good night, Kouki tucked himself inside his futon and closed his eyes, quickly falling straight to sleep.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

**SHORT INTERMISSION AT ROOM 7~**

"Hm, a little to the right...yes, there! No wait...I feel that the air felt much clearer when it was back against the wall..." Kagami sighed loudly, glaring at the Rakuzan beta who was currently using him as a moving cargo employee.

"Tell me why I'm doing this again?" Kagami demanded, moving Mubuchi's futon back against the wall. He, Mibuchi and Midorima were currently in their room while Seijuurou was out, taking his bath. Seirin's redhead had been getting ready to sleep before Mibuchi had asked if he could help him shift some of the stuff in the room around.

"Like I said, this room needs the proper feng shui in order for all our bad energies to be released outside and only the good energy will be able to saturate our bodies so we'll be able to have a good night's rest." Mibuchi told him, pointing to one of the mats. "Now let's move that to the other side of the room."

Kagami sighed loudly again but went to get the mat. "Okay, I didn't understand a single word you just said. Besides, what I meant is why I'M the only one who's doing this. What about that green guy there?!" He pointed rudely at Midorima who was sitting on his bed, watching something on his phone.

Said green guy looked at the Seirin ace and frowned. "I'm busy looking up for Cancer's health readings for this upcoming week."

Kagami frowned at him. "Wait, didn't you read your horoscope just an hour ago? You're not done yet?"

Midorima rolled his eyes at what he considered to be an idiotic question. "Fool. That was the readings for Cancer's wealth and travel readings. I'm focusing on my upcoming health now."

The Seirin ace made a face at the Shuutoku shooter. "You know, there's an easy way to check for your health. If you put your hand on your forehead and it feels hot, then you're sick. Pretty simple actually."

The green-haired beta have him a look of disgust. "How plebeian of you."

Kagami's nostrils flared as he started to get angry. "What did you just say?!"

"Okay, okay. Let's not fight." Mibuchi gently got between them. "See? This is what happens when the room isn't in its proper aligning. Now, please move Sei-chan's futon next to mine Tai-chan."

Kagami whirled on the other when he heard what the other called him. "Don't call me that!"

Mibuchi pouted. "But it's so cute!"

Seijuurou then chose that moment to walk into the room, wearing his pajamas for night time. "The baths are quite nice in this camp. It's very refreshing and warm."

Mibuchi squealed as he nodded at his captain. "You're right, Sei-chan! But is another reason you liked it because you got to share your bath with a certain Kou-chan?" The beta giggled, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

At the Rakuzan's captain's answering smirk, Kagami groaned loudly in disgust as he grabbed his futon and dragged it away to the farthest corner from any of the other three, ignoring Mibuchi's protests about his futon blocking the room's flow. "I wanna switch rooms NOW!"

**END OF INTERMISSION~**

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Kouki suddenly found himself in a dark hallway. He looked around, confused at where he was._

_"Hi."_

_Kouki jumped and turned around, facing a small boy who looked to be about five years old. He wore a blue yukata and had messy brown hair similar to the omega's own._

_"H-Hello." Kouki stuttered back, watching the small boy smile widely at him._

_"Do you want to play with me?" The boy asked, his eyes shining hopefully._

_Kouki hesitantly nodded his head, not wanting to ruin the boy's excitement. "Okay."_

_The boy whooped in the air, making Kouki smiled slightly. "Yeah! Then let's play hide and seek. Let's hide!" The boy grabbed onto Kouki's hand as they ran down the hallway and through the rooms of what looked to be a very large mansion._

_"If we're both hiding, then who's going to seek us?" Kouki asked, curiously._

_The boy's eyes suddenly saddened as he frowned. "We need to hide and make sure SHE never finds us, okay?"_

_Kouki's eyes widened. "Wait, who is SHE? Who are we hiding from?"_

_The boy looked sad as he opened his mouth to reply._

_"We must never be caught- especially you."_

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Kouki suddenly opened his eyes, looking around blearily.

He froze when he realized that he was no longer in his room, inside his futon.

Instead, he was on the floor of the hallway, right outside the dormrooms. There was a faint light shining through the windows at the end of the hall, indicating that it was early morning.

Standing up quickly, Kouki immediately made his way back to his room. Fortunately his other three roommates were still fast asleep and didn't notice his disappearance.

Kouki furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head, he must have made a trip to the restroom last night and must have accidentally fallen asleep on his way back. There was nothing for him to worry about.

When everyone was awake and showered, all the players made their way to the dining room for breakfast before their training started.

Rakuzan was eating a traditional japanese breakfast of grilled fish, miso soup, tamagoyaki and rice. Shuutoku's breakfast was on the western side with pancakes and sausages.

Seirin's breakfast was the most simple with tamago kake gohan- though all the Seirin guys preferred this over anything their Coach would try to concoct.

When Kouki cracked his egg over his egg, he gagged at the rotten smell and the grayish color of what was supposed to be the egg white that was on his rice. "Ugh, my egg is rotten!"

Izuki, who was sitting next to him, also gagged at the smell. "Ugh, your egg is definitely not egg-cellent!"

Hyuuga threw his chopsticks at his friend's head. "Shut up, Izuki! I told you no puns early in the morning!"

Everyone was surprised when the next three eggs that Kouki cracked were also all spoiled. "What the hell?" One of the first years, exclaimed.

"That's shouldn't be possible. Why is it only Furi's eggs?" Fukuda shook his head in bewilderment.

"The eggs shouldn't be spoiled at all- we chose the freshest ones from the store." Kagami butted in.

"You can share with me, Furihata-kun." Kuroko offered his bowl to the brunette.

Kouki shook his head, smiling slightly. "That's okay, Kuroko. I don't want you to eat any less than you what you usually do. I'll be fine with rice and soy sauce." Kouki suddenly felt someone behind him and he turned to see his mate looking concernedly at him.

"Excuse me for the intrusion, but I couldn't help but feel distress coming from you, Kouki." Seijuurou explained, checking over his mate.

Kouki gave his alpha a small smile as he shook his head. "It's nothing to worry about Sei. There's just a problem with the eggs we bought yesterday."

"All the eggs that Furi had were all rotten which makes no sense since everyone else's eggs are just fine." Kawahara informed the Rakuzan captain.

Seijuurou frowned as he held his hand out to the omega. "If it's okay with everyone, Kouki can gladly share breakfast with my team- we have plenty of food to share and I wouldn't want you to not have a decent breakfast, love."

Kouki blushed as he looked at his own captain for his final decision.

Hyuuga nodded, giving Kouki his approval. "Go ahead, Furihata. It wouldn't be good if you were to pass out during the coach's rigid training later." Kouki nodded and went with Seijuurou as they joined the Rakuzan table where Kouki was happily welcomed with open arms since everyone on the team knew him from his many weekend visits to their school.

As the day progressed, all the Seirin members collapsed into their seats as they waited for their lunch to be served. They were all exhausted by the all-out regime the Coach had given them while they were in the gym. After lunch they would be out training in the woods until nightfall.

Although Coach Riko was the one who was in charge of preparing their lunches, Tao had kept her promise and had watched over the brunette girl as she prepared large sub sandwiches for lunch.

When lunch was served, although the meats, cheeses and vegetables were all cut up very roughly, parts were strangely sticking out of the bread and the sandwich itself was soggy with large amounts of mayonnaise, the sandwich in general was at least edible. And also, there were no trace of multivitamins snuck into their food which was a big plus.

When Kouki took a bite out of his sandwich, he made a strangled noise which attracted his fellow teammate's attention towards him. "What's wrong, Furi?" Kiyoshi questioned.

Kouki spit out whatever was in his mouth and opened his sandwich. Everyone saw that it had a different filling than the others. There was no meats and cheeses and it only had vegetables inside, together with grass and what looked like tiny rocks as well.

"What the hell is this?!" Kagami demanded as Tsuchida took Kouki's sandwich and threw it into the trash. Kouki ended up splitting sandwiches with both Kuroko and Mitobe.

When they questioned Riko about it during their resumed training, she looked at them in confusion as she told them that she made all the sandwiches equally and she even had Shuutoku's manager to back her story up.

Everyone was confused by the mysterious sandwich incident but soon forgot all about it as they began their afternoon and evening trainings.

As they ran through the woods, Kouki found himself shivering at times as he could feel a pair of eyes staring at him. But no matter where he looked, there was no one looking at him. Kuroko noticed the brunnete's unusual jumpiness and questioned the other about it. Kouki just laughed it off and said it was just his imagination.

When dinner came around, Riko proudly presented to them a giant hotpot. The players gave her looks of apprehension as memories of her previous hotpot they had at Kagami's house were brought back up.

"Come on! I promised that I didn't put any fruits in it this time!" Riko whined at them.

"And there's no protein powder or other crap in this too?" Kagami demanded, his stomach growling in either hunger from their training or horror at the memory of the infamous hotpot.

Riko sighed as she placed her hands on her hips. "I promise. Tae-chan stopped me before I could. I promise everything in that pot is all normal."

"Eto..." Everyone looked to see Kuroko pulling out a whole small carrot, with roots and everything, out of the pot with his chopsticks.

Kagami blanched at that. "Do you call that normal?!"

Riko pouted. "But carrots are good for your eyes!"

Izuki sweatdropped at that, not even able to think of a pun for this. "Coach, I'm sure that you're supposed to actually chop the vegetables before putting them in the pot."

"Vegetables. Very good, ne?" Riko winked at them.

"Don't speak broken japanese again!" Hyuuga shouted at her.

"Well, at least this hotpot has only meats and vegetables in it." Kiyoshi tried to cheer everyone up, but gasped when he picked out a chicken's head out of the pot. Everyone screamed when they saw it.

From the other tables, the other schools watched the chaos going on at the Seirin table.

"Seirin's always lively, huh?" Nebuya commented, slurping on the noodles from his tantanmen ramen.

"We don't even need television- they're like their own show! I bet it'd get high ratings and everything!" Takao laughed, spitting some rice grains in Midorima's way.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" The green-haired shooter scolded his partner, trying to eat his own meal of pork tonkatsu.

When Kouki was about to taste their meal, he paused when he noticed something. "Um, coach? Did you put any shellfish in here?"

Riko paused in her argument with Hyuuga as she looked at him with eyebrows raised. "Of course not. I know that you have a shellfish allergy after all."

"Um, but then why is this in here?" Kouki held up a clam shell with his chopsticks. Riko's eyes widened in disbelief as Koganei went to search inside the giant hotpot and began to pull out various shellfish like abalone, prawns, scallops, and even tiny crabs that were hidden inside.

"What the- I didn't put any of that in there! We don't even have the budget for all that seafood!" Riko shouted, looking at all the shellfish in horror.

Kuroko looked very concerned, "It seems like Furihata-kun has been having quite bad luck with today's meals."

Fukuda nodded. "His breakfast had rotten eggs, there was grass and rocks in his sandwich during lunch and he can't even eat the hotpot since there's shellfish which he's allergic to."

Everyone on the team started to voice out their concern and worries. Feeling uncomfortable with all the attention, Kouki insisted that it must have just been an accident and to not worry about him. He told them to continue their meal and he'll just whip himself a quick plate of chahan (fried rice) to eat since Riko said there was some leftover veggies and pork in the kitchen.

As he walked towards the kitchens, Kouki suddenly heard some rustling behind him.

Turning around, Kouki caught the sight of a little boy, giggling as he ran away.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Kouki wondered why the kid looked so familiar before he felt someone tapping his shoulder.

Swerving around, Kouki met face to face with Shuutoku's manager, giving him a worried look as she held an empty pot in her hands. "Are you alright, Furihata-kun? " Tae asked.

Kouki gave her what he hoped was a convincing smile as nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I saw something is all."

When everyone was back in their dorm rooms for bedtime, Takao and Hayama were chatting together as Kouki and Kuroko exchanged their views on a light novel that was just released.

"I'm totally head over heels with Shun, but I want to go to the next step with him, you know? But I think he wants to just take it slow." Hayama said, chewing on a piece of gummy candy that he managed to sneak into the camp. Rakuzan had a strict 'no junk food' rule.

Takao sighed. "At least you're together with the person you like. I feel like Shin-chan is actually truly annoyed by my presence- like it's not just that tsundere side of him acting up like usual."

"Dude, that Midorima guy is totally into you. You just don't see the way he looks at you like we do." Hayama pointed out.

Takao groaned as he stole one of Hayama's candies and popped it into his own mouth. "I don't even know anymore..."

"I have faith that Midorima-kun has an interest in you, Takao-kun. Just please be patient with him." Kuroko added his own opinion from where he and Kouki sat on the opposite side of the room.

Takao gave the blunette an interested look. "You think? How can you be so sure?"

There was a strange glint in Kuroko's eyes when he replied, "I just know. Trust me."

Kouki nodded his head, accepting a gummy worm from Hayama. "I suggest that you follow what Kuroko says, Takao. If I've learned anything these past two years, I've learned that Kuroko has a way of always being correct. If he thinks that Midorima-kun likes you back, then he probably does." Kouki advised. "And I agree with everyone- I'm sure Midorima-kun returns your feelings. He's just shy."

Takao pursed his lips at that. "...Okay, since you guys have become like my bros, then I'll put my faith in you." Brightening up, the hawk-eyed player asked, "So since we all know that I like Shin-chan and Hayama is dating Izuki-kun and Furi's pretty much joint at the hip with Akashi, then what about you Kuroko?" He smiled slyly at the blunette.

Kuroko looked at him blankly, a red and orange gummy worm sticking out of his mouth. "I'm not dating anyone."

Furihata listened in on the conversation- he never thought about who his fellow teammate and close friend would be romantically interested in. "Isn't there anyone that you have a crush on, Kuroko?"

Hayama grinned widely as he gave the quiet blunette a knowing wink. "I think I know who he may like."

Takao and Furihata looked towards the oldest of their group. "Really? Who?" Kuroko merely raised one eyebrow at the blond.

Hayama puffed his chest out confidently. "I may not be the brightest color in the crayon box, but I do notice some things." He jumped onto Kuroko's futon and whispered something in the beta's ear.

The other two watched as the blunette shook his head at whatever the other said, making the blond frown. "Really? I could have sworn that you and Mayuzumi had a thing going on!"

"Mayuzumi?" Takao whispered questionly to Kouki.

"The phantom player on Rakuzan's team last year." Kouki whispered back, remembering the expressionless Rakuzan senior that had now graduated.

Takao nodded, recalling the player. "Ah, yeah. He was like Kuroko 2.0 right?"

"I haven't come into contact with Mayuzumi-san since the winter cup match." Kuroko informed Hayama.

Hayama pouted. "Darn, then who is it that you like?"

Kuroko had a small smile on his lips as he shrugged his shoulder. "It's a secret."

Kouki and Takao looked at each other for a moment before grinning as they got up and simultaneously tackled Kuroko and Hayama, catching the other two off guard.

"Argh!..." Hayama cried as a grinning Takao laid right on top of him. "Why are you attacking me?! I don't know his crush!"

"Tell us who you like, Kuroko!" Takao laughing, bouncing up and down on Hayama.

"Kuroko! I thought we were friends! Why didn't you say you liked someone?!" Kouki demanded, smiling as he placed Kuroko in his version of the Boston crab hold, which wasn't as painful as Riko's one.

"...Ow..." Kuroko mumbled, trying to fight a smile as he attempted to push the brunette off him.

All four boys continued to wrestle one another on the floor, laughing during the whole thing.

They finally broke up when Coach Shirogane barged into their room to tell them to quieten down and that it was time to sleep.

The Coach didn't scold them too badly (though he gave Hayama extra laps for the next day for sneaking in the candy) since he could see the smiles on everyone's faces and he knew that there was no real animosity between the three different teams in the room (unlike room 7 where the tiger from Seirin kept fighting it out with the horoscope fanatic from Shuutoku and his own team's captain and vice captain).

When all the lights were out, Takao's voice quietly spoke out into the dark, "So...you're really not gonna tell us who your crush is? Even though we're all in the Omega Protection Squad?"

"Takao....I told you I don't need a protection squad. And what kind of name is that anyway?!" Kouki groaned.

"I had like, half of that bag still filled with gummies! Coach is probably eating it with the Shuutoku coach right now..." Hayama grumbled, upset.

"Goodnight everyone." Kuroko's quiet voice was heard.

And after that, they all fell asleep.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

**SHORT INTERMISSION AT ROOM 7~**

"ACK!" Kagami squawked as he tripped over something, hastily trying to catch his balance and sighing when he managed to stand upright once more.

Looking down to see what had tripped him up, he screamed out loudly when he saw one of those japanese girl dolls dressed in a black kimono and its creepy beady eyes smiling eerily up at him.

"Will you stop making so much noise?" Midorima glared at Kagami, today's lucky item being a yellow comb in his hands. "It's late and there are people who are getting ready to sleep."

Kagami grabbed the doll from the ground and shoved it into the beta's face. "What the hell is this?!"

Midorima blinked surprised before looking at the redhead with a sour expression. "That's my lucky item from the first day here at the camp. If I may ask, please do not touch any of my things without permission."

Kagami snorted as he threw the doll onto the other's lap and went back to his futon. "I didn't touch your creepy doll on purpose- you shouldn't be leaving your horoscope crap lying around here in the first place."

The green-haired shooter frowned at him. "I most certainly do not leave my things lying around."

Kagami pointed at the four-foot model of Nico Yazawa from Love Live! posing proudly at the side of Midorima's futon. "So what the hell is that?"

The other rolled his eyes at him. "That's my lucky item for tomorrow- my younger sibling enjoys their songs. Anyway, this is neatly on my side of the room and as such, there is nothing for you to be against."

Kagami was about to say something to the shooter before he was interrupted by a curler that suddenly attacked him in the face. "What the hell?!"

"Oops! My bad- it slipped away from me!" Mibuchi cooed, taking back his curler and placing it once more into his hair.

Kagami gave the dark-haired boy an incredulous look. "What the hell are you doing? You don't even wear your hair curly!"

Mibuchi pursed his bottom lips at him as he gave the redhead a sultry wink (which would then give Kagami nightmares for the rest of the camp). "Silly, Tai-chan. There are many secrets a girl must have to keep her forever beautiful. Believe it or not, these curlers will help straighten my hair for tomorrow." Mibuchi whispered to him excitedly.

Kagami gave him a straight, unamused look. "But you're not a girl."

Mibuchi gasped as he placed a hand on his chest, "I'm a maiden at heart!"

Kagami sighed as he looked around his surroundings.

Midorima was arranging his lucky gemstones that he kept in an intricately carved box that the Rakuzan captain had gifted him on his previous birthday. There looked to be at least fifty small stones inside.

Mibuchi was finished 'straightening' his hair and was now applying some sort of lotion onto his face.

And the one that pissed the Seirin ace the most was the sleeping Seijuurou, who was tucked nicely in his futon and had a very peaceful look on his face, oblivious to everything around him.

Damn him for being able to ignore everyone unlike Kagami who was now fighting a migraine.

Kagami sighed as he shoved his pillow over his face, trying to rid his headache away. "I want new roommates..." He groaned, though the others probably couldn't understand him since his words were muffled by the pillow that was on his face.

**END OF INTERMISSION~**

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Kouki blinked and looked around, finding himself in the training center's kitchen._

_Feeling a tug on the bottom of his shirt, Kouki looked down and saw a familiar mop of messy brown hair. Kouki's eyes widened as he recognized the boy. He suddenly remembered the previous night's happenings._

_"It's you!" Kouki exclaimed, pointing at the boy._

_The boy smiled widely at him, his golden eyes shining brightly at him. "You found me! And SHE didn't seek you. Well for now. You win!"_

_Kouki laughed at the boy's infectious smile. "I'm glad, so what do I win?"_

_A green sandwich cookie with a white filling came into view as the boy handed it to him. "You win a cookie! They're super yummy!" The little boy said._

_Kouki took the cookie a bit into it. "It's delicious." He complimented him._

_"These cookies are my favorites. And it's her favorites too- she loves them!" The little boy gushed._

_Kouki looked at the little boy. "Who is this 'SHE' that you're talking about? Is she the same person we were hiding from yesterday?"_

_The boy sobered up at that, looking down. "No. They're both different. The one seeking us is evil." The boy looked up at Kouki with a serious face._

_"You must make sure she never seeks you out."_

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Furihata-kun?"

Kouki suddenly jumped up, blinking around at his unfamiliar surroundings.

He realized that he was no longer asleep in his futon. He was standing in the kitchen, everything messy and his clothes were covered in flour, a batch of newly baked green tea cookies lined up beside him.

Kuroko was standing in front of Kouki, still in his sleeping shirt and shorts and his bedhair was crazy as ever, but he looked awake and very alarmed (as alarmed as Kuroko was capable of looking) as he stared at Kouki.

"Furihata-kun?" Kuroko asked again when Kouki merely stared at him in confusion. "Why are you baking cookies at 2:00 in the morning?"

Kouki merely looked lost when he quietly repeated to himself, "2:00?"

Kuroko nodded, worried. "Yes. I woke up to use the restroom and I noticed that your bed was empty. Since the restrooms are on the way to the kitchens, I smelled the scent of cookies and found you standing here staring blankly." The blunette explained.

Kouki felt so tired as he looked at Kuroko with helpless eyes. "I don't remember getting up and coming here. And I really don't remember baking these cookies that I don't even have the recipe to!

"Kuroko...I don't know what's going on!"

The two boys stayed in the kitchen for another hour to clean everything up. They agreed that it would be best if they just went back to bed and talked things out in the morning- where they would both be much calmer and coherent.

They decided to discard all of the cookies in the trash to avoid having to explain how they got them in the first place and headed back to their room.

In the morning, they had both woken up late and didn't have time to talk about the previous night as they had to rush down for breakfast.

Kouki yawned as he entered the dining room, feeling like he hadn't had a wink of sleep last night.

But he automatically found himself wide awake when he went to sit down in his chair for breakfast...and ended up sprawled on the floor when his chair had completely gave out from under him.

"Furi/Furihata?!" Calls from his teammates sounded in the room and the brunette, dazed, found himself being helped up by both Kiyoshi and Izuki.

"I-I'm fine!" Kouki assured them embarrassingly, letting his teammates pull him down onto another chair- which thankfully didn't give out from under him this time.

"Kouki!" The omega then found himself being fussed over by his mate, the redhead examining every inch of him to make sure nothing was injured and broken. "Are you alright? Do you hurt anywhere?"

Kouki shook his head and nuzzled into his boyfriend's neck, hoping to calm the other down, "I'm alright Sei."

"Kou-chan! Do you want to visit the infirmary?" Mibuchi and the rest of the uncrowned kings had also come when they saw what had happened.

Kouki shook his head, giving them all a weak smile. "I'm fine. Please don't worry about me- it was just an accident."

When he was satisfied that the omega was indeed not hurt, Seijuurou sat next to his mate, comforting him as he took the brunette under his arm. "What happened?" He asked softly.

Kouki shook his head, letting his alpha scent him to calm his nerves. "I don't know- I just sat down and then suddenly I found myself on the floor."

"Guys! Look at this!" Everyone turned to see Mitobe holding up a piece of the broken chair. Koganei (the one who had spoken up) told them, "There's no screws in this chair!"

Nebuya went to examine the chair parts for himself. "He's right. Someone must have taken them out, assembled the rest of the chair without it and placed it here as a trap. Anyone who would sit on it would have fallen."

Hyuuga frowned. "Someone must be playing a prank...but who?"

Everyone looked at each other suspiciously. But they weren't able to further comment on the topic when Riko came into the room and barked for everyone to hurry up and eat their breakfasts.

Seijuurou stayed beside Kouki, both of them sharing their meals (though they mostly ate Seijuurou's Belgium waffles and sausages rather than Kouki's somewhat charred toast and a bit too runny eggs- his fellow teammates were looking a bit green at their own breakfasts so Kouki was actually pretty grateful to his mate).

Thankfully, there was no more further incident during breakfast and after making sure for the tenth time that the omega was okay, Seijuurou gave him a sweet kiss and departed for his own practice.

During the rest of the day, Kouki once again had a constant paranoid feeling of someone watching him. But no matter where he looked, there would be no one there. He tried to push it away out of his mind, convincing himself that the lack of sleep was starting to make him hypersensitive.

After their training at the gym, Seirin had a somewhat peaceful lunch of their Coach's large but still edible onigiri (well, the tuna mayo and pickled ume onigiri was edible. The salt onigiri was so salty the players ended up drinking an entire bottle of water after one bite).

After lunch however, there was another incident.

"Where are my shoes?" Kouki asked, trying to find his shoes at the entranceway. The team was going out to train in the woods and Kouki couldn't find his outdoor sneakers anywhere.

"Didn't you put them here?" Fukuda questioned, helping his friend find his shoes.

Kouki nodded. "Yeah, I could have sworn that I put them right here." He pointed near the door.

"Guys, look!" They turned to see Kawahara pointing at something above.

Shoelaces tangled around one of the metal ceiling beams, there was Kouki's white sneakers hanging above.

Kouki groaned as he thought about how he would be able to get them now- they were so high up he would need to get a very tall ladder. "How did they get up there?" He wailed.

Kawahara glared up at the shoes. "Someone's definitely being a jerk right now."

Fukuda shook his head, also upset but said, "Now's not the time- we need to get to go or else Coach will punish us. Furi, you can borrow my spare shoes since we're almost the same size."

Kawahara nodded, patting the brunette on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Furi. We'll get your shoes down when we come back."

Kouki smiled gratefully towards them, but the nagging thought that someone had actually thrown his shoes up there still lingered in his mind.

Was he being bullied?

Later that night, when everyone was going to their rooms for bed, yet another incident occurred.

Kouki had just finished his bath and was walking towards the dorms, chatting with Kuroko and Kagami. The brunette was a bit sad when his mate apologized to him earlier, telling him that he had something to discuss with his coach and couldn't bathe with the brunette again like yesterday.

"I can't stand being in the same room as them! Midorima's lucky item crap and Mibuchi's beauty care shit are taking up two/thirds of the room! And that damn Akashi's always waking up so freaking early- even earlier than when we're supposed to! How the hell do you deal with that?!" Kagami complained.

Kouki giggled as he listened to the redhead's troubles with his roommates. "Sei has always had a habit of waking up very early- I guess I just got used to it." He shrugged.

Kagami sighed, looking like he had just been tortured. "I'm begging you- one of you please switch rooms with me! Please! If I have to listen to another early broadcast of Oha Asa at 1:00 in the morning....I'm gonna kill someone."

Kuroko gave his light an empathetic pat on the back. "I'm sorry Kagami-kun, but I'm quite fond of my roommates and Furihata-kun's not allowed to stay in the same room as Akashi-kun since they are both bonded. If you would like, I can lend you some ear plugs and my eye mask?" The blunette offered.

Kagami sighed but took him up on the offer.

As they got closer to the rooms, there was a fuss going on in front of the rooms.

"What's going on?" Kagami called out, grabbing the attention of the guys that were huddled around something.

One of the first years from Shuutoku spoke up. "When we came back to our rooms, someone's clothes were thrown around outside all the rooms."

"And their underwear and socks were even hanging on our door knobs and stuff." Another first year, from Rakuzan, chimed in.

"We gathered all the clothes and piled them here, senpai." The first year from their own team told them, pointing to the heap of clothes placed on the table.

Kouki gasped as he recognized the pile. "Those are all my clothes!" He rushed forward as he went to check it closely, affirming that they were indeed his clothing.

Kuroko's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he gave a small frown. "Why would Furihata-kun's clothes be out here?"

Suddenly, a sound of barking came out, making Kagami scream as Seirin's mascot ran towards them and landed on the redhead's leg. "Dammit, Nigou! Kuroko get your damn dog off me!"

Kuroko made a shushing sound as he gathered Nigou into his arms. The blunette frowned when he noticed something hanging on the puppy's ears. "What is this?" He pulled on it and realized that it was a red wristband.

Kouki looked up from his pile of clothes and gasped when he saw it. "That's the wristband that Sei gave to me!"

Kuroko made a tutting sound as he handed the wristband back to Kouki. "Nigou, were you the one who made a mess of Furihata-kun's things?"

Nigou barked in reply, shaking his head.

Kagami helped Kouki bring his clothes back into his room while Kuroko gave Nigou a stern scolding about touching other's things.

As Kouki refolded his clothes, he froze as he realized something.

When they had come into the room, it was completely clean and his bag that held all his clothes was still neatly on his bed.

If Nigou had been the one to mess with his clothes, then shouldn't his bag be ripped open and the room a mess? And he remembered what some of the first years had said- how would a tiny dog like Nigou be able to hang his clothes on the high doorknobs?

When he brought it up with the other two, Kagami looked alarmed while Kuroko actually looked visibly worried. He also gave his little puppy an apology and a dog treat.

The duo tried to convince Kouki to report the incident to the coaches, but the omega declined, insisting that it was probably just someone pulling a harmless prank and that he just wanted to forget about it already.

Both Kagami and Kuroko exchanged a silent look, wordlessly communicating with one another. They didn't want to but they decided to follow their friend's wishes. They would just have to keep a close eye on things in case something else were to happen.

That night, Kouki didn't talk to any of his roommates like he usually did and just went straight to bed.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

**SHORT INTERMISSION AT ROOM 7~**

"Is something wrong, Kagami?" Seirin's ace jumped up a bit as he looked at Seijuurou who had just asked him a question.

"N-No, I'm fine. Why'd you ask?" Kagami replied shakily, his mind still on Furihata's earlier incident.

Rakuzan's captain raised an eyebrow as he sat on top his futon, a book that he had been reading laid across his lap. "You seem...preoccupied about something. If you have something on your mind, you can feel free to share it with me to lessen the burden." He offered, a kind smile on his face.

Kagami blinked owlishly at the other. Yes, he knew how much the fellow redhead had changed from their first meeting- so much that he had even somehow ended up bonded with his own team's skittish omega who had been previously scared shitless of him. And he knew that the other wasn't like his scissor-crazy self anymore...but it still weirded the Seirin ace out whenever the Akashi heir actually treated him kindly.

"Uh...okay." Kagami hesitated as he thought about how to put his thoughts into words. He knew that Kouki told him not to tell anyone about the incident, especially his own boyfriend. "Well, I have a friend who's been dealing with a lot during this camp. And things have been happening to him- like weird things." He paused, wondering what more to add.

Seijuurou looked concerned as he asked, "What kind of strange things have been happening to him, if I may ask?"

Kagami shrugged. "Well, the first day here some old lady told him a story which scared the crap out of him. Then the second day weird things started to happen to his food- like someone was sabotaging it. On the third day, someone was messing with his things." Kagami paused before adding, "And I've been noticing that he's been pretty jumpy lately during practice. He's usually a jumpy kind of guy normally so I'm not too sure, but lately he's looks more scared than usual and he's always looking around him."

Seijuurou furrowed his eyebrows as he looked suspicious. "Do I by any chance, know this person?"

The Seirin redhead widened his eyes as he quickly shook his head, trying to dispel the other's suspicions. "Nope. No. Of course not. I'm talking about...one of the first years. Yup. From my team. Some of them get pretty jittery." He said in a rush.

The Rakuzan captain sighed as he said, "I see. Well, if I may give some advice, I suggest that you inform the coaches about the incidents. It seems to me that someone has targeted your friend."

Kagami sighed as well as he explained, "I wanted to but my friend is the type of person that doesn't like too much attention on himself and didn't want to make too much of a fuss about it. He made me and another friend promise not to say anything to anyone. That's why I can't tell you his name neither- I keep my promises."

The Akashi heir nodded. "That's very admirable of you. And quite idiotic of your friend."

Kagami sighed. "I know."

"I think you should tell someone anyway- what if something worse starts to happen to your friend?" Kagami shouted in surprise, both at Mibuchi's sudden comment and his appearance when the ace saw the Rakuzan beta with green mush all over his face.

"What the hell is wrong with your face?!" Kagami pointed in horror.

Mibuchi huffed as he crossed his arms on his chest. "How rude. And it's my cucumber and green tea facial wash that Kou-chan gifted me for my last birthday. It works wonders on my skin and makes it all nice and smooth as a baby's bottom!"

Kagami made a face at him. "You look like a monster- OW!" He yelled when the tall beta smacked him in the face.

"How dare you insult me, you brute! You have no class!" Mibuchi yelled, slapping the other again in the arm.

"Ouch! Okay, I'm sorry! You don't look disgusting- ow!" Kagami shouted, trying to shield himself from the other's attacks.

"Alright, let's settle down everyone. Reo, please stop hitting Kagami now." Seijuurou said soothingly, pulling his friend away from the battered ace.

"Will you all quiet down- you're all making too much of a racket." Midorima grumbled from his place in his futon.

Kagami groaned as he flopped bonelessly onto his futon, his upper body aching from the beta's hits. Maybe he was wrong- maybe the roommates he hated was only Mibuchi and Midorima. Oddly enough, maybe Akashi was actually the only one he was okay with?

Though Kagami quickly changed his mind about that revelation when he later was awaken at five in the morning to the Rakuzan's captain's early morning exercises.

Nope, he was right. He hated all of his roommates.

Every. Single. One.

**END OF INTERMISSION~**

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Kouki found himself in the hallway again._

_"Why did you throw them away?!"_

_Kouki jumped as he turned around, surprised to once again see the little boy. But this time, the boy looked very upset at him. "What?" Kouki asked, looking confused._

_The little boy glared at him. "Why did you throw away the cookies? SHE found them in the trash and now SHE knows about you!"_

_The omega looked aback at the fear that was also mixed in with the anger in the little boy's eyes. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know where those cookies came from and I didn't want to explain to the others about where I had gotten them."_

_The boy shook his head, looking distraught. "Those cookies were for her. They were her favorites. And now she can't have any."_

_Kouki bit his lip, feeling bad. "I'm really sorry for throwing away the cookies."_

_The boy shook his head again before looking up, giving Kouki a scared look. "I'm not really mad about the cookies- he can bake more anytime. What I'm worried about is that SHE now knows about you and that means SHE'S going to go after you."_

_Kouki's eyes widened in fear. "Who is this 'SHE' and why is SHE coming after me? What is she going to do if she does get to me?"_

_The boy looked like he was about to cry as he said in a solemn voice, "You're an omega and SHE hates omegas- especially male ones. And if SHE finds you..." The next words that came out of the boy's mouth felt as if ice water spilled all over Kouki's entire body._

_"You'll die."_

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Furi!...Furi!...FURIHATA!"

Kouki gasped as his eyes snapped open. His heart was pounding as he blinked at Hayama who was still shaking him.

"H-Hayama! I'm a-awake! I'm a-awake!" Kouki stuttered, trying to get the blond to stop shaking his shoulders.

"Ah! Sorry." Hayama stopped and gave Kouki a worried look. "Furi, what was that just now?"

Kouki furrowed his eyes at the other before he finally looked around him.

Once again, he woke up in a place that wasn't his room. He was once again in the hallway, but this time he was standing up.

"I woke up to get ready for practice and noticed you standing out here. When I called out to you, you didn't answer me back. You had this weird blank look on your face and you just stood here ignoring me even when I tried asking you what's wrong." Hayama explained, looking upset.

Kouki shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't remember how I got here." That was all he could say.

Hayama looked at him incredulously. "You don't know how you got here? Did you sleepwalk or something?"

Kouki shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I don't know."

The blond now looked worried as he took in the brunette's state. Kouki looked very haggard and the dark rings under his eyes showed that the omega couldn't have had much sleep lately.

"Furi, does this have anything to do with what happened yesterday? Kuroko told me about someone messing with your clothes and your two friends mentioned something about your shoes being thrown on the high beams." Hayama told him gently. "Does Akashi know that someone's bullying you?"

Kouki shook his head frantically at that. "No! Don't tell Sei about this. He has enough on his plate with your team training and I just don't want him to worry too much over me. And it's nothing that bad anyway- I'm only just a bit tired and someone MAY be playing a prank on me since yesterday's incidents could still be considered as unlucky accidents."

"But Furi..." Hayama started.

Kouki gave him a stern look. "Don't tell Sei anything. I'm fine. I'm just...having trouble sleeping is all." At the unsure look on the blonde's face, Kouki told him, "Okay, if anything else further happens, then I'll tell the coaches. But for now, I can handle things on my own."

Hayama looked at the brunette for another long minute being sighing and shaking his head. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut around Akashi and everyone else. But if anything more happens to you, the captain is definitely gonna be the first one I tell." Kouki thanked the older guy and assured him that everything would be fine.

Everything was not fine.

For the rest of the day, the feeling of watching eyes still lingered on Kouki, making him skittish and frantically looking around in paranoia at times.

And there were more incidents that had happened, but the difference to the previous days was that these incidents were much worser.

When Kouki opened the door to retrieve one of the basketballs from the equipment room, a large bucket of melted white chocolate spilled all over Kouki's head. Luckily, he was able to clean the mess up without anyone knowing (but Riko did assigned him five extra laps for taking too long).

Then, as Kouki was about to walk into the building to use the restroom, a large cooking pot was suddenly falling from the second floor and was aiming directly at Kouki's head. But the brunette had accidentally tripped over his shoes (he was still wearing Fukuda's shoes and they were a bit big for Kouki) and the pot ended up just missing Kouki's head by two inches. Once again, since no one was around to witness this incident, no one found out about it.

Unfortunately, on the third incident that occurred later that evening, he could no longer hide it anymore.

Takao gasped, eyes wide in horror and for once completely speechless.

"I'm getting the captain." Hayama immediately said, quickly going out to get Seijuurou.

"Furihata-kun, you look very pale. Come have a seat on my futon." Kuroko told him gently, directing the shocked omega to his futon.

Kouki's pillow and blanket had been torn to shreds. His futon was covered in rude writings and threats, saying things like "GET OUT OR DIE!" and "OMEGAS DON'T BELONG HERE!".

Kouki stared at his futon, his tired mind and body not really knowing how to process anything that was happening.

Kuroko and Takao looked at each other worriedly before trying to get their silent friend to talk to them.

After a few minutes, Hayama came back to the room, together with Seijuurou and surprisingly all of the redhead's roommates as well.

"Kouki!" Seijuurou rushed into the room and immediately embraced his mate, glancing at the ruined futon before focusing his attention on his frozen omega.

"Oh my..." Mibuchi's hands flew up to his mouth as he looked horrified at the futon.

"Who the fuck did this?!" Kagami demanded, pissed.

"We need to inform the coaches about this." Midorima told them, frowning deeply at the scene before him.

"No!" Kouki immediately yelled, shrinking back a bit as all eyes were suddenly on him. Blushing at his outburst, Kouki hid his face into his alpha's chest and explained, "I don't think we should bother the coaches about this. It's not that much of a big deal anyway..." He words were slightly muffled but everyone could still understand him.

"Not a big deal?!" Kagami choked. "Someone literally wrote that you should die, Furi! I think that's a pretty big deal to me!" He pointed sharply at the ruined futon.

"Tai-chan's right, Kou-chan." Mibuchi said gently as he sat on the other side of Kouki and gave the brunette a one-armed hug. "It's sounds like someone has something against you and based on this, they're very serious."

Kouki moved slightly away from his boyfriend as he looked around the room. All his friends were looking at him with degrees varying from furious to worried. He felt completely awful. "...Okay." He sighed in defeat.

Everyone also sighed in relief as Seijuurou helped his mate up from Kuroko's futon.

But everything once again went into chaos when Kouki went to slip his foot into one of his house slippers and immediately pulled it out, shouting loudly.

"Kouki!" Seijuurou yelled in panic, grabbing hold of his mate when the omega almost fell over.

"Owwww!" Kouki groaned, his eyes shut in pain as he crouched down.

Seijuurou helped his boyfriend to sit on the floor, glaring at the others to keep their distance as they started to crowd to close to the pair. "What's wrong, Kouki?" Seijuurou demanded, watching in horror as his mate started to sniffle.

Kouki shook his head, one hand clutching onto his foot. "My foot...it hurts, Sei." He sobbed, the pain in his foot was so sudden and together with the omega's already exhausted mind and body, Kouki couldn't help but finally break down.

Seijuurou quickly examined his mate's foot, carefully removing the other's hand to get a better look and indeed the omega's foot was covered in tiny pinpricks with blood seeping out of each hole.

"What the-" Hayama cursed, seeing the blood.

"Someone sabotaged Furihata's slippers. Look here." Everyone turned and saw Midorima holding up one of Kouki's slippers. The green-haired shooter turned the slipper upside down and tiny little thumbtacks poured out onto his hand.

"There's some in here too." Kuroko added, checking the other slipper and finding tacks in it.

Seijuurou's eyes flashed a dangerous dark red in absolute fury. Someone was harming his mate, and the alpha would make sure he would find out who they were and get retribution.

At the sobs coming from his omega, Seijuurou immediately snapped out of his anger and decided to focus on what needed to be done first and foremost. "I'll bring Kouki to the infirmary to get treated. Tetsuya and Reo you go inform the coaches about everything- including Kouki's past incidents. The rest of you clean up this room, get a new futon for Kouki and then go around the camp and as discreetly as possible, try to get some information or clues as to who could be behind all this." The redhead commanded, his alpha pheromones making the tension in the air very high and tight, almost suffocating everyone except Kouki whose omega's senses were practically leeching onto everything from his alpha.

Everyone went to follow the redhead's orders as Seijuurou gently lifted his mate into his arms and carried him to the infirmary. Kouki was still crying softly, hiding his face into the other's neck as he tried to take in his alpha's scent to calm him down.

The infirmary doctor gasped when she saw the couple. Seijuurou sat them both onto one of the empty beds and refused to let Kouki leave his arms. The doctor, knowing it not be wise to try to separate an aggravated alpha from their bond mate, worked around the redhead and focused on cleaning and treating Kouki's wounds.

When Kouki's foot was nicely bandaged, the doctor gave permission to let Seijuurou stay together in the room with Kouki as she had to step out for a while to buy more medication and medical supplies in town.

When the couple were finally alone in the room, Seijuurou laid them both onto the bed, sighing as his omega cuddled up with him and clutched tightly to his mate. "Kouki, please tell me everything that has happened during this camp. And I mean EVERYTHING." Seijuurou told his mate, gently, running his fingers soothingly through the other's messy hair.

Kouki had stopped crying since they arrived at the infirmary and he found himself extremely tired. Trying to keep his eyes from shutting, he quietly told his boyfriend everything that had happened, starting from the old lady's scary story and warning to every single incident that had occurred in the camp. Seijuurou listened to the other's explanation, keeping his bond mate in his arms as he rubbed the other's back for comfort.

"Have you ever seen that little boy during this camp? While you were awake?" Seijuurou asked when the brunette told him about the dreams he'd been having.

Kouki was relieved that his boyfriend sounded like he believed him, not thinking the omega crazy for having weird dreams and being paranoid about feeling someone watching him these past few days. "I think I have- sometime during the second day I thought I saw him but he ran away before I could really be sure."

The redhead furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you think he might have something to do with all these incidents?" Seijuurou was not a believer in the make-believe or anything involving the supernatural, but he believed in his mate and he knew it wouldn't be wise for him to just cross out something just because of how unlikely and farfetched it seemed.

The omega shook his head. "No. I think he's connected but I don't think he's the one threatening me- I feel like his intentions are good."

"And this child has told you that some woman is after you because she holds a grudge towards omegas?" Seijuurou inquired.

Kouki yawned, feeling very sleepy as he nuzzled his nose into the other's neck. "Yes. But I don't know who she is or why she would hate me."

Feeling the exhaustion radiating from his mate, Seijuurou decided to let the other rest. "Go to sleep, Kouki. The others and I will figure this out and I will make sure that no one will get to you. I'll do everything in my power to protect you, no matter what." He vowed.

Kouki yawned again, letting his eyes close. "I'm sorry for all of this, Sei. And I know that as long as you're with me, everything will be okay. I love you."

Seijuurou smiled as he gave his mate a soft kiss on his forehead. "I Iove you too. Sweet dreams."

After the brunette had fallen asleep, Seijuurou continued to stay awake, rubbing soothing circles onto his mate's back as he contemplated how to deal with the situation.

After a few minutes, Seirin's coach appeared at the door, with Mibuchi and Kuroko behind her. "How's Furihata?" Riko demanded, looking intimidating for someone wearing a light pink camisole and matching shorts with cute kittens printed all over.

Seijuurou put a finger on his lips as he looked down pointedly at the sleeping omega. Riko covered her mouth as she nodded, gesturing for him to take their conversation outside.

Giving his mate a soft kiss, Seijuurou promised the sleeping brunette that he would be right back.

When Seijuurou left the room, he saw that everyone else were there as well, including Seirin's captain, Hyuuga and point guard, Izuki.

"What's this I hear about someone bullying Furihata?" Hyuuga demanded, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Is Furi okay?" Izuki asked, for once not in the mood to make any puns. "I noticed how jumpy he's been since yesterday but I didn't bring it up. I knew I should have said something." The point guard scolded quietly to himself.

"Don't blame yourself, Shun. I noticed something was off with Furi this morning but I didn't say anything neither. I should have though." Hayama told his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around the other and giving a squeeze. Izuki gave him a small smile in return.

"Kouki is resting right now. He's told me that he hasn't been able to sleep well at all during this camp." Seijuurou then proceeded to tell the small group everything that the omega had told him had happened since arriving at the training center.

"I knew something was off with him since the second day, but just chalked it up with how fidgety Furihata usually is." Riko berated herself with her foolishness. "The other two coaches are in town, buying ingredients and supplies for the barbecue that we were all going to surprise you three teams with tomorrow for the final day here. So I'm the one who's been put in charge. Do you have any idea on who could be behind this, Akashi?"

Seijuurou sighed. "I have been thinking about it, but I'm not quite certain since I know no one who would have any grudges towards Kouki." His mate, though shy and gets very nervous, was so kindhearted and friendly with everyone. It was hard to imagine who could hate the male omega.

"Maybe it was that girl from the story? Maybe her ghost has come back to haunt Furi?" Hayama suggested, looking worried.

"Don't be ridiculous- there's no such things as ghosts!" Hyuuga snorted.

"What are you talking about, you have a ghost right on your team!" Hayama argued, gesturing towards Kuroko.

Kuroko gave the blonde an unamused look. "That's rude, Hayama-kun." As Hayama's apology, the blunette continued. "Whether it is indeed something supernatural or not, I believe it wise that we leave all options open. But for now, let's focus on who could have caused all of those incidents involving Furihata-kun. Is there anyone from the three teams here that may dislike Furihata-kun or omegas in general?"

"Everyone on our team loves Kou-chan! He's such a sweetheart and everyone just adores the treats that he usually brings when he comes to visit Rakuzan." Mibuchi gushed.

"And everyone knows that whenever Furi's around, the captain is always in a better mood and none of us wants to mess that up." Hayama added. He didn't mention the fact that none of his teammates would ever want to face the wrath of their captain if any poor soul ever did try to mess with the brunette. But that went without saying.

"It's definitely no one from Seirin neither. We're like a big family and no one would ever try to harm anyone." Hyuuga insisted.

Kagami nodded. "That's right. We don't mess with our own. So that just leaves us with..." Everyone looked towards the only pair from the third team.

"Eh?" Takao looked at them like a deer caught in headlights.

"That's preposterous. Our team wouldn't sink so low as to bully another player." Midorima told them, looking disgusted at the mere thought.

"Are you sure about that?" Kagami questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"What are you trying to say?" Midorima demanded.

"Well, your team is the most suspicious at the moment." Kagami pointed out. "Both Seirin and Rakuzan are used to Furi. But your team isn't used to having an omega around and well...are you really sure no one on your team may have something against omegas?"

"And there is a prime suspect on your team as well." Izuki added, making everyone look towards him.

"What do mean?" Hayama asked, looking curiously at his boyfriend.

Izuki bit his lip. "I thought about it and well...based on what we've heard, the person who's behind all these attacks had to be near Furi during those times. And based on certain incidents like the taking of Furi's clothes and destroying his futon...wouldn't the culprit be someone who was staying in the same room as him?"

"And since it can't be from Rakuzan or Seirin, that just leaves..." Mibuchi covered his mouth as all eyes turned towards a certain dark-haired hawk-eyed player.

Takao choked. "You think it was me?"

Before Takao could splutter anything out, Midorima immediately stood protectively in front of his basketball partner and sent everyone a deathly glare. "No. That's the most ridiculous accusation I've heard all day."

"But Midorima-kun..." Riko started but stopped at the fierce look the green-haired beta shot her.

"Takao may be many things, but I know that he's not the type of person to harm another. He jokes around with others and likes to tease, but at the end of the day, he truly is the most caring and kind-hearted person out of all of us here. And I refuse to just stand by and let you all falsely accuse him of this ludicrous crime. It's utter blasphemy!" Midorima told them all heatedly.

Takao was near tears at the other's words, his hand slowly reaching up to grip the taller's boy's sleeve during the rant. "Shin-chan..." Takao said softly.

Midorima looked down at the shorter man, anger still present on his face. "I believe that you didn't do it, Takao. I would willingly go against Oha Asa himself just to prove your innocence." He assured his basketball partner.

Takao had a small smile on his face, blinking away the tears that were threatening to fall. "Thank you, Shin-chan." Maybe his friends were right and the green-haired shooter really did like Takao after all?

"I believe in Takao-kun too. I do not see him capable of harming others, let alone Furihata-kun." Kuroko added in his own opinion, looking at them all with an expression that was still blank but had some sternness behind it.

"Me too!" Hayama seconded it, nodding his head. "Takao's a good guy! And he's also Vice-president of the Omega Protection Squad!" He gave Takao a wink. "Us guys gotta stick together, hm?"

Takao grinned at his two roommates, nodding. "Yeah." He paused. "Wait, why am I only the vice-president?"

Hayama grinned. "Because I'm already President and since you're also one of the leaders in the squad, you get the important position of vice-president."

"And since when did we elect you as president?" Takao frowned.

Hayama smirked. "We don't need elections. I took the initiative of appointing myself of this position since 1) I founded this organization in the first place, and 2) I'm the oldest, and last 3) I am also blonde."

Takao sighed. "I can't fight that logic. Okay, I'll be vice-president."

"Omega Protection Squad?" Mibuchi asked his teammate unsurely, raising an eyebrow.

Hayama grinned as he gave the taller beta a thumbs up. "Long story- I'll tell you all about it later. And for others that are interested in joining, we have unlimited space available so you can turn in your registration form towards our secretary, Kuroko! But the leader positions are limited so enroll as soon as possible!"

Takao turned towards Seijuurou, who had been quiet during the entire conversation and gave him a serious look as he went back to the main topic. "Akashi, I promise that it wasn't me who has been messing with Furi. I swear my life on it."

Seijuurou studied Takao for a moment before slowly giving a nod. "I do not believe you to be the kind of person who would cause any of these incidents. And furthermore, I trust in Shintarou's, Tetsuya's and Kotarou's opinions. If they say that you did not do this, then I'll trust in their judgements for now."

Takao sighed a breathe of relief and grinned up at his green-haired basketball partner. Midorima looked down at him and surprised the hawk-eyed player with a small smile of his own.

After all of this was over, Takao was definitely going to confess his feelings to his Shin-chan.

Hyuuga sighed as he threw his hands in the air. "Okay, so Takao didn't do it. Now what? Is there any other people that we can suspect?"

Seijuurou sighed as he looked at the group. "I do agree with Izuki-san's statement that the person behind these attacks has to be someone who was nearby Kouki at the time. Because of this, I do not believe it could be a fellow player- merely because every player in this camp has been busy conducting their own training schedules which I believe are more than enough to keep any time they have occupied."

Mibuchi looked at his captain with wide eyes. "Sei-chan, so you're saying that the person who's behind all these attacks has to be someone who's not a player, hence doesn't have any training to do and is free to set up all these traps?"

Seijuurou nodded gravely at his vice captain. "Correct. Minus the players at this camp, that only leaves us with the coaches and managers." The redhead paused when he heard Riko gasp and saw Kagami's expression suddenly tightened. "What?" He demanded.

Riko looked at Kagami and the tall redhead shook his head in disbelief. She turned towards Seijuurou with a pained expression on her face. "Actually, I may know someone who matches exactly what you've just said..."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Kouki opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a white ceiling._

_The brunette found himself lying in bed. He wasn't in his room but in the infirmary. Kouki frowned a bit as he realized that his mate was not beside him like he had been before the brunette had fallen asleep._

_Yawning, Kouki sat up in bed before suddenly freezing. He wasn't the only one in the room._

_Slowly looking up, at the left corner of his bed sat a young man, around his mid-twenties. He had messy brown hair similar to his own, but his eyes were very dark, almost black even._

_Kouki squeaked as he brought his blanket up towards his chin, shivering as he looked in fright at the young man._

_The man didn't look very threatening though and he gave Kouki a gentle smile as he opened his mouth. "Please do not be scared, child. I am not hear to harm you, I promise. I just wanted to talk to you."_

_Feeling the genuine kindness for the older male, Kouki shivering slowly stopped, though he still help up his blanket. "A-Am I dreaming r-right n-now?" He wanted to make sure._

_The young man chuckled. "I'm quite certain you are. But I will say that I am very much real at the moment."_

_Kouki nodded. "Okay. Um...can I know your name?"_

_"My name is Kishiyama Takahiro. Please call me Takahiro." The young man replied._

_Kouki introduced himself as well, since it was the polite thing to do. "My name is Furihata Kouki. What did you want to talk with me about, Takahiro-san?"_

_Takahiro stood from the bed and Kouki was surprised when the older man bowed down deeply to him. "I wanted to apologize greatly for everything that has happened to you these past few days."_

_Kouki blinked a few times before hesitatingly saying, "Were you the one behind all the accidents?"_

_Takahiro straightened up before sighing. "Not exactly. But I am the one to blame for your misfortunes."_

_Kouki was confused as he sat up more comfortedly in his bed, his blanket lowered into his lap. "Um, can you explain to me exactly what is going on? From the beginning please?"_

_Takahiro smiled wearily at him as he nodded, once more taking a seat ontop the bed. "Alright. You do deserve an explanation after all. Well, for starters, I know that Genki has been bothering you and for that, again I apologize for his behavior. Like his name, my son can be very energetic and always wants to play with others."_

_The omega blinked. "Your son?" He looked thoughtful for a couple of seconds before he gasped. "Wait, you mean that little boy that's been in my dreams? He's your son?" Now that he looked closely, the little boy had obviously inherited his hair from his father._

_Takahiro nodded, a fond smile on his face. "Yes. He's quite a handful but I love him very much. He's my world."_

_Kouki shook his head. "No need to apologize for him- he didn't cause me trouble. Much. But anyway, I want to ask you something. Genki-kun has always told me that some woman is seeking me out and wants to...k-kill me. Do you know who this w-woman is?" The brunette asked, stuttering a bit at the end._

_Takahiro's face darken at this as he clenched his fist in his hand. "Yes. I know her. May I tell you my story? The true story? I promise all of this will make much more sense. Do you remember the story you've heard when you were in town?"_

_Kouki nodded. He remembered the story and never once could he forget it, no matter how much he wished he could._

_"Well, the story has its inaccuracies. You see, the lovers in that story did not intentionally want to commit suicide together by drowning in the river- it was all an accident."_

_Kouki's jaw dropped. "Really? What really happened then?"_

_Takahiro sighed. "The lovers only wanted to run away, go to hiding into another town and live their lives together in peace. But in order to get to the town, they needed to cross the river first. But it was raining very hard that night, the river waters were very dangerous and the ground became very slippery and...well, you can imagine what had happened." Takahiro looked pained at this._

_Kouki was silent for a minute before quietly saying, "You were the man in that story, weren't you? You were the omega male from that rich family that fell in love with the cook's daughter?"_

_Takahiro gave a small smile. "Sayaka was the love of my life and forever will be my love, even in this afterlife."_

_Kouki gulped as he slowly asked, "When she died and you lived...why didn't you follow her? In the story, they say you ended up marrying the rich girl that your family wanted you too."_

_Takahiro had a distant look in his eyes as he sadly replied, "I wanted to. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to follow my Sayaka into the next life. But...when I woke up days after from the accident...I found out that I was pregnant."_

_Kouki gasped. "With your son Genki?"_

_The older omega nodded. "Yes. And when I found out about my pregnancy, everything had changed. I couldn't just end my life because it wasn't only my life anymore. From that moment I vowed to give mine and Sayaka's child the best life I could. And in order to do that, I needed my family's help for that. And they would only help me if I follow their orders- which was to marry that Maria woman."_

_Kouki nodded his heart hurting for the older man. He then asked something that has been on his mind since he first heard the story, "In the story, they said that there was a fire that destroyed the mansion and everyone in it. Was it really an accident? They say that it was Sayaka-san's ghost that caused it as revenge for you marrying someone else."_

_Takahiro shook his head fervently at that, looking upset. "Those people have no idea what they are saying. My Sayaka was a sweet woman who couldn't hurt a fly. But, I will say that they were correct that fire was indeed not an accident. The person who had caused the fire was my 'wife', Maria." He spat out the name in disgust._

_"Why?" Kouki asked, horrified._

_The older omega grimaced as he answered, "Maria was a very greedy woman. When we first married, we agreed that it would be a purely platonic arranged marriage for only business. Maria was fine with this as long as she got access to my wealth._

_"Then one night, she found out that if anything were to happen to me, then all my property and wealth will go to my son as default. Maria was infuriated when she learned that she would get nothing and she ended up setting the entire place on fire, in hopes of getting rid of my son and I, leaving everything to her._

_"But I suppose divine intervention played its role and Maria got caught up in the flames as well. Till this day, her vengeful spirit is also here with us."_

_Kouki gulped, feeling the sweat rolling down his back. "So what you're trying to tell me is that the person who wants to kill me is your ex wife Maria?"_

_Takahiro nodded. "Maria has a grudge against omegas because of me- she hated how I never bent down to her wishes and got rid of my Genki. She hated children, you see? And since you are also a male omega, I'm afraid that she has targeted you now that she knows that you're here."_

_Kouki panicked. "How does she know that I'm here? Is it because of the cookies I threw out before? But I don't remember baking them!"_

_The older brunette looked remorseful as he confessed, "I'm sorry, Kouki-kun. The one who baked those cookies were me."_

_Kouki's eyes widened at that. "What? But how?"_

_"For some reason, I am able to take over your body- it must be because you are also a male omega. It's been for so long since I've been able to bake anything....the temptation was too great." He had a wistful look on his face before he shook his head and bowed down to Kouki. "Because of my carelessness, Maria was able to find the cookies which linked her to you. I'm truly very sorry."_

_Kouki couldn't help but twitch, looking around the room as if he would suddenly find himself face-to-face with Maria. "So what am I supposed to do now? How can we stop Maria-san?" No matter how terrified he felt, Kouki couldn't just sit around and wait for some evil ghost to kill him. He still had his friends, his family and importantly Sei to live for._

_Takahiro furrowed his eyebrows. "I know that Maria is still here, but I'm not too sure where exactly. Over the years, I've thought that if I could somehow reunite once more with Sayaka, then we could somehow lure Maria's spirit out and banish her altogether. But I have not been able to leave this building ever." He admitted._

_Kouki looked surprised at that. "Sayaka-san is still here as well?"_

_Takahiro smiled sadly at that. "I'm not too sure, but I can still feel her presence. I think she's still roaming around where the river used to be. I don't think that she has moved on either."_

_"So in order to get rid of Maria-san, we need to somehow get you out of here and to the dried up river where Sayaka-san MAY be there and then that would lure Maria out and then...what? How exactly do we get rid of Maria-san once she shows up?" Kouki inquired._

_Takahiro was quiet for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not too sure." Kouki sweatdropped at that. "But I'm sure we'll figure it out once the time comes."_

_Kouki sighed. "Okay. I guess our main priority is how do we get you out of here? You can just go through the walls or something?"_

_Takahiro shook his head. "If it were only so easy. I've tried so many times but there's been some type of barrier preventing me from leaving."_

_Kouki was silent for a few minutes as he thought of a plan. Then suddenly it hit him and he quickly looked at Takahiro with wide eyes. "Wait, I think I have an idea..."_

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Kouki/Kou-chan/Furi/Furihata/Furihata-kun?!"

Multiple voices sounded in the room, all of them in ranging from upset to shock to panicking.

When Seijuurou had opened the door to check on his mate, he was horrified to find the bed where the brunette had been sleeping on to be empty. Everyone was now searching the room, trying to find where the omega could have disappeared to.

"Akashi-kun, look." Kuroko pointed to the window which was opened all the way. "I think that Furihata-kun may have gone through here."

Seijurou gritted his teeth in anger. "But Kouki wouldn't do such a thing. Why would he try to leave without telling any of us?"

Hayama nodded. "Yeah, besides Furi hates scary things like the dark and stuff. There's no way he would willingly go out there, especially alone."

"But what if he wasn't alone...and it wasn't willingly." Izuki pointed out, the eagle-eyed boy's face filled with panic.

Seijuurou's face darkened at the thought of someone smuggling his mate outside in order to harm the brunette. The redhead let out a menacing growl that had everyone in the room shiver and recoil in fear. He was going to kill the person who dare harm his Kouki.

Riko and Kagami came back into the room at that moment, panting as they had ran to the dorms and back at full speed. "Tae-chan's not in her room!" Riko shouted, her face full of anger and betrayal at what this insinuated.

The Seirin coach had become close with the Shuutoku manager during the camp- they were the only girls present and they always spent a lot of time cooking together. To think, someone who she had thought of to be her friend could have been the person attacking one of her players and close friends....it was downright sickening.

"But we don't know if it really was Tae-san." Kagami pointed out, looking very upset. "She could be out using the restroom or something?"

"No one should be out of their rooms at this time." Hyuuga said strictly, his face also showing the worry and anger at the situation. He hated the feeling of helplessness when it came to something happening to one of his teammates.

"But..." Kagami scrunched his eyebrows, frowning.

Kuroko looked at his basketball partner with observing eyes. "Kagami-kun, you look unusually upset at the thought of Ootsubo-san being the possible culprit. Do you have feelings for her?" He questioned.

Kagami spluttered, looking completely flabbergasted at the blunette. "Wha-?! No! What are you talking about Kuroko?! I only consider Tae-san as a friend!" He insisted.

"You call her by her first name?" Kuroko raised an eyebrow at the taller redhead.

"Furi does too. She asked the two of us to call her that after that first night when we cooked dinner." Kagami defended.

Kuroko looked at his friend's blushing hot face and remembered seeing the 'special connection' that only the blunette could see between his friend and the Shuutoku manager during the camp. But he decided to let it go for now since there were more pressing matters on hand. "Where should we search to find Furihata-kun?" He questioned the rest of the group.

Seijuurou's face with still dark with anger, making everyone wary. "Where does the windows in the infirmary lead up to?" He demanded.

Riko was the one to answer. "They lead up to the west area- behind the building." She remembered the layout of the entire camp, studying for suitable places for her team to train and wanting to be aware of everything around them.

"Behind the building?" Takao repeated, eyes wide. "Isn't that where the girl drowned in that story? The river was supposed to be in the back of the building, right?"

Hayama jaw dropped, eyes widening in revelation. "That's right! My god, what if that lady got a hold of Furi and brought him there to die?!"

Mibuchi gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. "Oh my god! We have to save Kou-chan!!!"

Midorima rolled his eyes. "You are not all seriously thinking that a ghost is behind all of this?" But as he said this, the green-haired beta's hands were clenched tightly at his sides.

"We must keep all possibilities open." Kuroko reminded him. "And if all this is indeed the play of something supernatural, we must be prepared."

"I got salt." Hayama announced, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a large handful of salt packets that came with the bentos they had during the camp.

"Ah! So it was you who was stealing all the salt!" Mibuchi scolded. He and Seijuurou had been questioning why some of the bentos that had the salt packets missing from them.

"Good job! As expected of the president of the Omega Protection Squad!" Takao gave him a thumbs up.

"Kota, why do you have all that salt in the first place?" Izuki asked his boyfriend, looking at one of the packets himself.

"Ever since me and the guys told scary stories that first night at the camp, I been stocking up on salt, just in case." Hayama explained.

"That's great and all, but how exactly are you going to use it? I mean, are you planning on opening each packet one by one and throwing it at the evil spirit?" Izuki asked, watching the realization dawn on the blonde's face. "Ah, but if you throw in some AA batteries as well, that's what I call 'A salt and battery'!" Izuki's eyes lit up as he pulled out his trusty pun book and wrote down his pun, dodging Hyuuga's head kick at the same time.

Hayama was too distracted to even laugh at his boyfriend's pun as he cursed at his mistake. "Crap! I hadn't thought of that! Does anyone have a container where I can pour all this salt in?"

"I think Shin-chan does!" Takao called out.

"Fool! I have no such thing!" Midorima hissed at him.

But his teammate ignored him and dug into his pocket, pulling out the shooter's eyeglass case. "Here, use this!" He grinned, ignoring his teammates protests.

"Are you sure it'll be enough?" Mibuchi questioned, looking unsure as he watched the blond began ripping the packets and pouring salt in the case.

"As long as we have a good handful of salt, it should be enough." Kuroko informed them.

"Ne Kuroko, do you know how exorcise a ghost, by any chance?" Takao asked, eyes sparkling. He had a feeling the Seirin shadow was the type of person to know these kinds of things.

Kuroko nodded, his face blank. "At Teiko, there was a large variety of books available in the library. One of the books I borrowed had a very interesting content inside. From it, I learned how to perform Kuji-Goshin-Ho, a ritual that consists of chanting nine words of power while making revelant hand signs before shouting additional words and throwing an ofuda scroll (charms, wards, or scriptures that usually bear the name of a God) at the evil spirit." He told them all calmly.

Kagami blinked. "Wait...you studied exorcism while you were in middle school?"

Kuroko looked unfazed at the disturbed tone in his basketball partner's voice. "Yes. During my third year."

Midorima was also flabbergasted by this. "Wait, you weren't planning on using it on one of us...were you?"

Kuroko face stayed completely blank, though there was something a bit off if you looked carefully. "........of course not."

"Liar! Then why did you pause?" Midorima shouted.

"Okay, okay, let's move on, shall we?" Takao cut in, for once being the person to stop any conflicts from happening.

Kuroko looked towards the hawk-eyed player and added, "I've never actually practiced it in real life, but I'm sure there's a first time for everything. But I do need an ofuda scroll for the ritual."

Takao nodded as he reached into his squawking partner's other pocket and pulled out said scroll. "You mean like this?"

Kuroko nodded, taking the scroll. "That's perfect."

"Why do you have an ofuda scroll in your pocket?" Kagami now looked at the green-haired beta weirdly.

Midorima scowled. "It's my lucky item for today."

Hyuuga raised an eyebrow at that. "What a coincidence."

Kagami shivered. "It's creepy. Your Oha Asa is scarily accurate."

"Eto..." Everyone faced Izuki, who was looking suddenly apprehensive.

"What is it, babe?" Hayama looked at his boyfriend worriedly.

"I've just realized something- where is Akashi-kun and Coach?" Izuki asked.

Everyone froze as they looked around and to their horror, the Rakuzan captain and the Seirin coach was indeed missing.

"What the?! Don't tell me the ghost got to them too!" Hyuuga yelled, worried more for their coach than the redheaded captain.

"Nooo! Not Sei-chan!" Mibuchi wailed.

"We'll need more salt then!" Hayama shouted, furiously tearing through more packets.

"Um...I saw them leave." Kuroko started, causing everyone's attention to go on him. "As soon as Coach told Akashi-kun where the infirmary windows led, he immediately ran off with Coach following right behind him."

Everyone was quiet as they let that information sink in. Suddenly, everything was thrown into chaos as they shouted in unison,

"KUROKO!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING EARLIER!!!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Kouki stopped walking as he finally made it to his destination. He looked sadly at where the river had once been. Now, it was all dried up, not even a drop of water left.

Sighing as he looked wearily at the now dirt filled trail before him, he lifted his face and called out loudly, "I know that you're there. I already sensed you following me since I came to this forest."

He heard the crinkling of the leaves and listened as footsteps slowly walked out, stopping a few feet away from him. Taking in a deep breath, Kouki turned around and faced the other.

"You don't look surprise at all to see me. I expected someone as nervous and weak as you to yell and cry in fright." Ootsubo Tae smirked. "How boring."

Kouki crossed his arms across his chest as he observed the woman in front of him. "Why are you doing this?"

Tae giggled as she slowly walked up to him until she was only a foot away. "I've already made my intentions very clear, haven't I? But I guess I'll just have to repeat myself once more, you little dim-witted omega rubbish." The omega froze when she slowly leaned forward until her lips were an inch from his ear and she whispered, "Because all omegas are merely wastes of space on this planet. And as such, I am merely doing the world a favor by making sure every single one of you DIE!"

Kouki quickly dodged the sharp kitchen knife that was suddenly thrust at him, the deadly blade just centimeters away from his left eye.

Tae screamed as she thrust the knife again, aiming towards the omega's face. The next minutes was spent with Kouki nearly dodging each of Tae attacks as the beta aimed her knife towards his face, body, legs and arms.

Shrieking in frustration, Tae made a sudden diagonal slicing motion and Kouki yelled in pain as her knife successfully hit his left shoulder. "Shit!" He yelled, grabbing at his shoulder.

Tae shrieked gleefully at the blood that started to ooze out of the wound. She quickly used the opening and managed to make cuts on Kouki's right cheek as well. "Die, omega!"

"KOUKI!" Suddenly Tae was tackled by a large body, ramming her into one of the trees. She groaned as pain shot up her back and head where it hit the tree trunk.

"Kouki!" Seijuurou yelled again, leaving the Shuutoku manager and rushing towards his mate who was standing a few feet away, staring at them with shocked eyes. "Are you okay? You're bleeding!" The redhead shouted worriedly, taking a look at his mate's bloody shoulder and cheek.

Kouki was silent as he watched the alpha rip a strip of cloth from his own shirt and used it to stop the bleeding from his shoulder. "Kouki? Does it hurt badly? Are you in shock? You're not saying anything." Seijuurou frowned at the quietness of his mate. Usually the brunette would be having a panic attack right now. But Kouki was still quiet, his attention on the woman behind him.

"You bastard!" Tae spat, getting up and making sure her weapon was firmly in her hold. She aimed the knife toward the couple before her. "I'll kill you along with that dirty omega!"

"Like hell I'll let that happen!" Coach Riko suddenly barged into the scene and body slammed right into the Shuutoku manager.

"Argh! You-" Tae was cut off when one of Riko's fists was aiming towards her. The manager quickly dodged the attack and lifted up her knife, aiming it at the Seirin coach. "I'll kill you first then!" Tae screamed.

"You can try but," Riko dodged another hit before successfully placing a punch onto the girl's stomach. "I doubt you'll be able to. But please, feel free to come at me." Riko dodged the knife again before bending down and tackling her onto the ground, making the surprised girl drop her knife as they landed with a thud.

The two girl fumbled on the ground as the Seirin coach tried to pull the other into her Boston crab hold. But Tae managed to slip herself out of the Coach's hold and took hold of her knife once more. Tae flipped them over until she was on top and the Coach was under her.

Kouki made a move towards the girls before Seijuurou stopped him with a hand. The brunette looked up to see the redhead glaring at him. "Don't move even an inch from here." The alpha ordered him as he moved away.

Kouki stayed back, clutching onto his wrapped wound, as he watched the redhead run at an astonishingly fast speed to help the Seirin coach.

"I'll make sure you die more painfully than the others that I've killed!" Tae screamed, bring her knife down into the alpha's girl's face.

Riko cursed as she tried to move away unsuccessfully, shielding herself as she waited for the blow. When none came, she moved her arms and saw that Tae was no longer on her.

The Seirin coach looked to her right and her jaw dropped at the sight of Tae attacking the Rakuzan Captain now.

When Seijuurou dodged another stab made at him, he positioned himself and swiftly moved, making a clean punch directly at the Shuutoku's manager's stomach.

"Ugh...." Tae grunted, dropping her knife and holding her stomach. She watched, scorned, as the redhead quickly used his foot to maneuver the fallen knife away from her and slid it to Riko who hurriedly grabbed it. The redhead then crouch down and swiftly kick out Tae's legs from under her, making her tumble onto the ground.

When the Rakuzan captain came close to restrain the girl, Tae suddenly kicked out her leg, making the captain dodge at the last minute. Taking this moment, she quickly stood back up, glaring wildly at them all. "Such a rude boy. Hadn't your mother ever told you it's impolite to hit a lady?" She spat the blood that was dripping out of her mouth from the punch, sneering at him.

"Well, hasn't your mother ever told you it's impolite and downright insane to kill people?" Riko said in a mocking tone, holding up the knife at her.

"It's because you're a 'girl' that I only used one-fourth of my actual strength." Seijuurou told the beta, body still in a defensive stance in case of any more surprise attacks.

Before Tae could reply back, there was the sound of footsteps coming towards them.

"The sounds were coming from here!"

"Dammit Coach and Akashi! They shouldn't have gone off on their own!"

"Ack! The salt is spilling! Wait a second!"

"Ah. Everyone, I see them."

"Hold on Furi! The Omega Protection Squad is here!"

When the players finally caught up to them, they all froze in shock at the scene before them.

Kouki was holding onto his bloody shoulder and had a long gash that still had some blood dripping down his cheek. Seijuurou and Riko were in defensive stances, with a large knife in the coach's hand.

And what shocked them the most was the presence of one Ootsubo Tae who was standing before them, blood dripping down the side of her lip and glaring at everyone with an insane look in her eyes.

"Ootsubo-chan?" Takao gasped when he saw her. He was uncharacteristically speechless.

"Ootsubo-san..." Midorima looked pained and disgusted as he realized that the person behind all these attacks was from his own team.

Kagami gritted his teeth, glaring at the girl with anger mixed with hurt and betrayal. Ever since they had cooked together during that first night, the Seirin ace had built up a little crush on the Shuutoku manager. During the rest of the camp, they would bump into each other at random times and start talking about anything and everything (usually exchanging recipes) and they would laugh together during the redhead's breaks. But seeing what was before him...he felt incredibly sick. "So it was you who had been messing with Furi this entire time?" He uttered through clenched teeth.

But before Tae could open her mouth to answer, someone else replied instead. "No, it wasn't your manager."

Everyone froze and looked towards Kouki, who had been the one to speak up.

"What are you talking about Furihata?!" Riko yelled. "This bitch had been trying her best to kill all of us just now- including your own bond mate, you know?!"

Kouki shook his head, looking at them all with a strange stern expression on his face. "That woman there isn't your manager. Not now." Looking back at everyone's confused faces, he revealed to them the truth. "Your Ootsubo Tae is being possessed by an evil spirit right now. And that evil spirit belongs to no other than the person who I despise the most...my former wife, Maria."

Riko blanched at what the brunette just said. "What?!"

"You're former wife?!" Mibuchi gasped out in shock.

"What the hell are you talking about Furihata?!" Hyuuga demanded, looking at his fellow teammate like he was losing his mind.

Seijuurou stayed quietly as he listened to the others make their own exclaims in shock. When everyone quieted down, the redhead finally spoke. "It took me a few seconds to realize it, but who are you?" He asked, his tone deadly.

"Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked out, everyone else looking towards the Rakuzan captain now.

But the Akashi heir didn't mind anyone as he kept his attention on his 'mate'. I can feel something was off with you. My Kouki is still here but you're not him right now." He gave the brunette a very dangerous glare that would bring lesser mortals on their knees. "Who are you and what did you do to my Kouki?"

Kouki gave him a weary smile as he gave a short bow to the alpha. "My name is Kishiyama Takahiro. Its a pleasure to meet all of you, but I wish it were under better circumstances."

Kuroko gave him an appraising look before speaking in sudden understanding. "You're the man from the story, am I right? You're the male omega whose lover died and remarried to another." The blunette sounded like he was stating it, not asking.

Takahiro nodded. "Yes. You are very observant."

"What have you done with Kouki?" Seijuurou demanded again, his gaze focused on the brunette.

"Your mate is here and safe. He wants to tell you to not worry, 'Sei'. He is alright." Takahiro assured the redhead. "It was with his permission that he had allowed me to possess his body in order to banish the evil in this camp. In fact, it was his idea in the first place. It is only temporary and I shall give him back to you after this is all over." He explained. Seijuurou gave him a curt nod, but he was still not relaxed since his mate was still not 'here'.

"Wait, so you're telling me that the ghost story was actually real?" Hayama asked, wanting to be sure.

Takahiro looked at him as he replied. "Some parts of the story were truth. But some of the facts seems to have been twisted as the years have gone by."

"Then tell us what's the truth then." Midorima spoke up. He was still reeling at the fact that ghosts indeed existed so he had stayed quiet for a while.

Takahiro nodded. "My lover, Sayaka, and I had indeed ran away from my mansion after our relationship was brought out into the light. But we had no intentions of suicide- the truth was that we got into an accident as we tried to cross the river and I ended up losing Sayaka. Later on, I found out that I was pregnant with our child." Riko and Mibuchi gasped at this.

The omega continued. "For my son, Genki's, sake I needed to lower my pride and ask my family for help in raising him. They agreed only if I married Maria." The brunette's face twisted into something the others had never seen the omega look before. "It was Maria who had set fire in the mansion, killing both my son and I because I wouldn't leave her with a single cent of my wealth in my will. Fortunately, she also got caught up in the fire and burned along with us."

"So the person in the wrong was not your lover, but your wife?" Izuki clarified to make sure.

Takahiro nodded. "Yes."

"Well that's screwed up." Hayama sighed, shaking his head.

As everyone was still taking in what they had just learned, they suddenly heard a small tinkle of laughter.

Everyone turned their heads in unison and remembered that 'Tae' (who was actually Maria) was still there, laughing as if she was just told the most funniest joke.

"So it's really you, Takahiro...." Maria grinned crazily, her focus on 'Kouki'. "You've finally come out of hiding, I see."

Takahiro glared at her. "You've been nothing but trouble. Stop tormenting these kids and get out of that poor girl's body."

Maria snorted. "You're one to say- you're also possessing that omega right now, are you not?"

"Yes, but unlike you, I have Furihata-kun's permission." Takahiro spat back.

Maria hummed as she took a step in the omega's position, making everyone on alert and more wary. "You know, I initially had wanted to possess the Seirin's coach's body- she was quite strong and held a lot of authority over everyone, despite her small chest size."

"WHAT?!" Riko yelled, bringing her knife up. Fortunately, Seijuurou managed to hold the Seirin coach back.

"But since she was an alpha, I was unable to do so, being a beta myself. So I had to settle for this girl here. It worked out in the end- since she was mostly in the background and no one really noticed her, it made things much easier for me to carry out my plans." Maria told him.

"Why are you after Furihata-kun? Is it truly because he is an omega?" Takahiro demanded.

Maria smiled. "Hmm...not in the beginning. Actually, I had no idea he was even an omega in the first place. I only noticed how much he resembled you- what with the hair and all. It made me sick just looking at him so I decided I would mess with him a bit." Maria sighed before smirking. "And then I found the special 'green tea cookies' and I realized that not only was the boy an omega, but that you were also involved. So of course, I had no choice but to kill him."

"You're fucking insane lady!" Hayama shouted.

Maria rolled her eyes. "Hmph. The youth nowadays have no manners. But no worries, I'm only after your omega friend. I'll let you all go...though you might be a bit worse for wear when you get back."

"Don't hurt any of my friends!" Everyone looked towards the brunette and realized that it was the real Kouki this time.

"Kouki..." Seijuurou said quietly, looking at his mate.

Kouki smiled at his mate before glaring back at Maria. "Don't you dare hurt any of them. This is just between you, me and Takahiro-san."

A glint shined in Maria's eyes as she gritted her teeth in anger. "You filthy omega...you dare order me around?!"

Kouki clenched his jaw and looked at her as if she were scum. "Yeah, I'm an omega. But I can't change that- just like how you can't change being a selfish, superficial, murdering bitch!"

That was what caused the final string in Maria's mind to break as she screamed and practically flew at Kouki at supernatural speed, tackling him to the ground as she wrapped her hands around his throat to strangle him.

Everyone shouted as the weather suddenly turned bad, a rain pouring down and the wind blowing wildly. Leaves and dirt flew around and some of the trees began falling.

"Watch out!" Hyuuga yelled, tackling Mibuchi down as a tree narrowly hit them.

"Shin-chan! I got Kuroko, help me get this off!" Takao yelled from under the branches of the tree that fell on both Takao and Kuroko. Thankfully, it was light so all they had were tiny scrapes and cuts.

"Takao, hold on! One-two-three!" Midorima hefted up the branches, urging the two to come out.

"Midorima-kun, duck!" Kuroko hurriedly warned. The green-haired shooter did and narrowly avoided being hit by a large tree branch that flew by.

"Kota! Are you alright?!" Izuki yelled, also taking cover as rocks and leaves flew around him.

"I'm fine, but captain and your coach got struck!" Hayama yelled, narrowly dodging another tree that fell.

Kouki tried to pry Maria's hands off him but when he heard Hayama's words he immediately looked in the direction his mate was in and saw Kagami trying to lift up a heavy tree that fell ontop both his alpha and coach.

Seeing his mate in danger, Kouki used whatever strength he had to lessen the girl's grip on his neck enough for him to shift his body and throw the crazy woman off him. Seeing her land with a satisfying thud, Kouki quickly got up, coughing from being choked and ran to help his mate and coach.

"Kagami!" Kouki yelled, grabbing some of the branches. From up close, he could see a hand with a knife slicing the branches from the inside. He recognized the hand as Seijuurou's.

Kagami nodded as he took the other part of the branches and shouted, "Let's lift it, okay? NOW!"

Both Kagami and Kouki lifted the tree, making way for the trapped two underneath. Hyuuga ran toward them to help out.

Seijuurou sliced through some of the vines to make an opening while Riko used her fists to crush away the leaves that got their way.

When they came out, Riko gasped when she was hugged by a relieved Hyuuga before he let go of her, both of them blushing as they looked away.

Kouki hugged his mate as soon as he saw him, both of them sharing a short but heated kiss. "Sei! You scared me!" Kouki cried, hugging the alpha. The redhead looked a bit worse for wear, but other than a few scrapes, he was fine.

Seijuurou sighed in relief as he finally had his mate (the REAL Kouki) in his arms. "Kouki, don't ever scare me like that again! Why did you leave the infirmary?"

Kouki looked a bit guilty before giving his mate a defiant look. "I needed to handle this personally. I wasn't going to just stay in bed and let you all handle everything- I'm not a weak, helpless maiden, you know. I can fight too."

Seijuurou gave a weary sigh before smiling fondly at the other. "As expected. And if I must add, even before we began dating and were only friends, I've never once thought that you were someone who was considered 'weak'."

"Okay, this is sweet and all, but that Maria chick is still trying to kill us!" Kagami cut in, making the pair look to see said woman in combat with Takao now.

"Yeah, bring it on you dead sack of bones! Is that all you got?" Takao egged her on, dodging her punches and kicks. He couldn't hit her back since she was still in his manager's body and that would just be wrong.

Maria growled as she managed to land a kick at his shin.

"Takao!" Midorima yelled when he heard his partner's groan in pain and fall to the ground.

"I'm fine! Just focus on getting Coach Aida and Mibuchi to safer ground!" Takao called back, rolling away as Maria was about to stomp on his leg. Midorima and Izuki were helping the two get to a much safer place, away from where the ritual will take place. Hyuuga and Kagami were now behind them, using large branches to whack away and block any flying objects that came their way. "Hayama!"

"I'm on my way!" Hayama shouted, running towards the two with the glasses' case in hand.

Takao took a hold of Maria's leg and pulled her down. Catching her off guard, the hawk-eyed player quickly grabbed her from behind, holding her down as she struggled to get out of his grasp. "Kuroko, you ready?"

Kuroko appeared besides Hayama, making the blond jump in surprise, and nodded. "Yes, let us begin."

Opening the glasses' case and grabbing a big fistful of salt, Hayama went towards the struggling Maria and yelled out in a clear and straight tone, "Evil spirit, DISPERSE!" Making sure the salt hit the girl's face and body, Hayama watched as Maria screamed in pain, her struggling worsening.

Everyone gasped as they saw a dark, black shadow separate slightly from Tae's body before pulling itself back in again. The dark shadow kept coming in and out, fighting to not be separated with its host body.

"Help!" Takao shouted, his grasp weakening as the girl's struggles became stronger. Hayama quickly threw the rest of the salt on her before going to help Takao. Both Hayama and Takao were on both sides of the screaming girl and held her down using their entire bodies.

"Kuroko, now!" Hayama yelled, panting as the girl struggled harder.

"Aaaahhhhhhh!" Maria screamed, her eyes an eerie black.

Kuroko took a deep breath as he concentrated his mind and began the mantra.

He put his hands together and interlocked his fingers. His index fingers were raised and pressed together. "Rin臨."

Hands together, pinkies and ring fingers interlocked (often on the inside). Index finger and thumb raised and pressed together, middle fingers cross over index fingers and their tips curl back to touch the thumbs' tips, the middle-fingers' nails touching. "Pyō兵."

Hands together, index fingers cross each other to touch opposite ring fingers, middle fingers crossed over them. Ring and pinky fingers are straight. Tips of ring fingers pressed together, tips of pinkies pressed together, but both sets of ring and pinky fingers are separated to form a V shape or bird beak. "Tō闘."

Hands together, ring fingers cross each other to touch opposite index fingers, middle fingers crossed over them. Index finger, pinky and thumb straight, like American Sign Language "I love you". "Sha者."

"NO!" Maria screamed, kicking out and managing to loosen the two boys hold on her.

"Shit!" Hayama cursed, trying to tighten his hold.

"Dammit- we're only halfway through!" Takao shouted, trying to keep Maria down.

When Maria was almost out of they're grasps, suddenly another set of arms appeared around Maria's shoulders and grasped onto the black shadow itself, making the girl/shadow scream as she no longer could escape as she was once again held firmly down.

Takao and Hayama straighten their holds and looked up in surprise to see the person who joined them wasn't they didn't know...someone who was currently glowing a weird unearthly white light.

"Wha-?!" Hayama gasped, almost letting go of Maria before the woman shook her head and gave him a stern look. She looked to be in her early twenties, very pretty with shoulder-length wavy black hair and wide gold eyes.

"Do not loosen your hold now- we mustn't let her escape." The woman ordered him. Hayama snapped out of it and nodded, his focus back on restraining the other frantic woman in their hold.

Seijuurou heard Kouki gasp and turned to see the brunette looking with shocked wide eyes at the glowing woman. Before Seijuurou could ask what was wrong, he noticed the strange glint in his mate's eyes and realized that it was not his mate but Takahiro who was again there now.

A tear dropped from Takahiro's eye before he whispered one word. "Sayaka."

Keeping his concentration on the ritual, Kuroko put his hands together and interlocked his fingers. "Kai皆."

Hands together, fingers interlocked, with the fingertips inside. "Jin陣."

Left hand in an upward-pointing fist, index finger raised. Right hand grips index finger, and thumb is pressed onto left index's nail. "Retsu列."

Hands spread out in front, with thumb and index finger touching. "Zai在."

Hands form a circle, thumbs on top and fingers on the bottom, right hand overlapping left up to the knuckles. "ZEN前."

"Akuryō Taisan! (Evil Spirit, Begone!)" Kuroko shouted in the loudest voice they had heard from him yet. He quickly took the ofuda that he had put in his pocket and firmly placed it on Maria's forehead.

"Let her go!" Kuroko yelling in warning as he backed away himself.

Takao and Hayama followed the order and quickly made their way towards the blunette. The glowing woman also let go but merely backed a few inches away.

Everyone watched as the black shadow fully separated itself finally from Tae's body. As Tae fell to the ground, the shadow rose us slowly in the sky. The black shadow was in the distorted shape of what could have been a woman. It screamed in pain as it withered side to side, looking as if it was being tortured.

"From now on, you will no longer be able to harm anyone ever again." The glowing woman told the evil spirit.

With one last ear-splitting scream, the shadow crumbled into dust, the final remains disappearing through the air, into nothing.

The rain slowly tampered off, along with the harsh winds. There were no more harmful objects flying around anymore.

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they took everything in.

"And our work here is done. The Omega Protection Squad is so badass." Hayama slowly grinned, exchanging fist bumps with both Takao and Kuroko.

Riko gasped when she noticed the knife cut that Maria had given her- and the additionally cuts and scrapes she had also gotten earlier- had disappeared. "My cuts are gone!"

Everyone checked themselves and were astonished to see that they were also as good as new.

"Since we were hurt by Maria, when her spirit was destroyed, the wounds that she gave us must have not have any more effect on us since she was not living to begin with and the wounds had disappeared along with her." Kuroko guessed, looking at his cut-free hands.

"Tae!" Kagami yelled, rushing towards the unconscious girl on the ground. Takao also followed since that was his manager and Midorima followed behind his partner.

"Tae! Tae!" Kagami called out bringing the girl in his arms and shaking the hell out of her. "Hey! Are you okay?!"

"How can she be okay when you're shaking her like that, you moron!" Midorima shouted at him as Takao shuffled forward to stop the redhead.

"Although your harsh method of waking a person up is quite unconventional, Ootsubo-san does seemed to be awakening. Maybe you should give her a 'true love's kiss' Kagami-kun?" Kuroko suggested.

Kagami spluttered, her eyes bulging out. "What the hell Kuroko?!" His face matched the color of his hair now.

Kuroko put a finger to his lips. "You're too loud, Kagami-kun. Ootsubo-San is now awake."

Tae opened her eyes and gasped, clutching tightly into Kagami's arm. "No! Don't!"

"Whoa, there..." Kagami tried to calm the panicking girl.

The Shuutoku manager shook her head, crying. "No! She's going after Furihata-kun! I tried to stop her but she's too powerful. You have to stop her before she kills him!" She begged.

"Ootsubo-chan, it's okay." Takao knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's gone, she's gone know. We got rid of her and she'll never come back. You're safe. We're all safe now." He told his manager gently.

"Yes. And Furihata is completely fine." Midorima pointed to where the brunette was and when Tae saw that he was indeed okay, she sagged in relief and calmed down, slowly drifting off to sleep in Kagami's arms.

"Aww....how sweet!" Mibuchi cooed. Kagami blushed even harder but didn't loosen his grip on the girl, making certain people around him to grin at each other.

"Sayaka, is that truly you?" Takahiro said, slowly walking towards the glowing woman and catching everyone's attention. They had forgotten that not there was still one thing left to do.

"Takahiro? Oh my..." Sayaka started to tear up as the other man walked up slowly towards her.

"Sayaka...wait, is she the lover from your story? The one that fell into the river?" Hyuuga questioned.

Takahiro nodded his head, his gaze never leaving his love. "Yes. I finally found you."

Sayaka smiled widely, sniffling as tears streamed down her cheeks. She glowed even brighter, making her look even more radiant. "Oh, Takahiro. You've been looking for me after all these years?"

Takahiro chuckled as he slowly grabbed her hand, holding it firmly but with care. "Of course. I've never once stopped looking. I'd search a millennia for you."

Sayaka sobbed as she threw herself into his arms, crying into his shoulder. Takahiro held onto her tightly, tears streaming down his own cheeks as he finally had the love of his life back in his arms. "But, didn't you remarry to that woman after I died?" Sayaka cried.

Takahiro shook his head as he pulled away and lifted up her face to look her directly in the face. "I had to. I needed financial aid from my family to help raise our son, so in exchange I had to follow their orders and marry that horrid woman. But I vow to you that I've never once bedded her- you are the only love of my life." He promised.

Sayaka looked at him with wide eyes. "Our son?"

Takahiro smiled at her as he nodded. "Yes. I found out that I was pregnant. His name is Genki. He's back at the building, safely away from here. He has your eyes."

Sayaka smiled widely as she shed more tears. "Oh, Takahiro..." She leaned in to kiss him.

"Um, yeah. Sorry to interrupt your reunion and all but before you two make out, would it be too much trouble if you give us back our Furi first? Akashi looks like he's gonna kill someone." Hayama pointed out, sensing the dark atmosphere practically enveloping around his captain.

Takahiro's widened his eyes as he quickly nodded. "Oh I apologize, I had forgotten. Yes, of course. Here."

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Takahiro separated himself from Kouki's body.

Finally getting a glimpse at the real Takahiro, they noticed that the spirit had a few similiar traits to their own friend/teammate.

Takahiro lifted up his hand slightly and Kouki's body began to float up in the air and slowly made its way towards Seijuurou.

Kouki gently landed in Seijuurou's waiting arms as the alpha gently brought them onto the ground, laying his mate on his lap and his head cradled on his chest.

"Kouki?" Seijuurou whispered, watching as the brunette's eyes slowly opened. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

Kouki blinked for a few seconds, looking up at the redhead dazedly for a moment before he gasped as he remembered what had just happened. He turned his head to the side and locked eyes with Takahiro himself. Eyes widening at the girl besides him, Kouki hesitantly asked, "Are you...Sayaka?" The omega hesitantly asked, remembering the name of Takahiro's former lover.

Sayaka had a very simple but elegant beauty to her. She wore only a long, plain white kimono, but it suited her well. Sayaka smiled at Kouki and nodded her head. "Yes. And you are the one who has helped bring my Takahiro back to me."

Kouki blushed as he quickly waved her off. "Oh, no no! I hardly did anything."

Takahiro chuckled as he shook his head. "At that, I must highly disagree with you Furihata-kun. You were the one who suggested I possess your body in order for me to finally leave the building. And it was you who took back the control in your body so you could protect your loved ones, especially your mate." Takahiro smiled at him. "You've done so much Furihata-san. You and your friends have helped me rid of Maria once and for all and finally reunited me with my beloved Sayaka again. I owe you so much...but I could never repay you since I am not living anymore."

"Promise never to haunt the training camp again- Oh! And if you spread the word with your other ghost friends as well, then it would be greatly appreciated. And please add my house on the 'no-haunting' list as well please?" Hayama piped in, receiving a hit by both Kuroko and Takao.

Kouki shook his head as he answered. "You don't owe me anything. But if you want to know what you can do to pay me back, please reunite your family and finally move on together to a better world. That's what would make me happy."

Takahiro smiled as he nodded. Shifting his gaze to Seijuurou, he said, "Your bond mate is a good man. Treasure him for the rest of the time you have together in this world."

Seijuurou nodded, replying back in a serious tone. "Always."

Takahiro turned to look at Sayaka when she suddenly gasped. Eyes wide in wonder, Sayaka pointed to something afar and asked, "Takahiro, what is that light?"

The omega turned to look at what his lover was talking about and also gasped at the bright shining light up ahead. "Well, my dear. If I'm not mistaken, I think that's heaven."

Mibuchi squealed when he heard this. "Oh my! So there's really a light that leads us to heaven after we die?"

"How does heaven look like? Is there TV?" Takao inquired.

"It's beautiful." Sayaka whispered, feeling her lover squeeze her hand in agreement.

"So is that a yes on the tv?" Takao pressed on.

"Quiet, you fool!" Midorima scolded his teammate, smacking the shorter on the head.

"It seems to be time for us to go." Takahiro said, feeling nervous but excited at what was up ahead. Turning back to Kouki, Takahiro gave him a gentle smile. "Furihata-kun, to you and all your friends, thank you so much for helping us."

Kouki smiled back, feeling embarrassed as he could feel himself tearing up a bit. "Yeah. Your welcome. Ah, but what about Genki-kun?"

Sayaka looked worried as she looked at Takahiro, but her mate merely chuckled as he replied, "I have no doubts that Genki will follow along. Furihata-kun, I'm sure you'll meet with my son one more time. When you do, please tell inform him of where we are. I'm positive that he will not be left alone."

"Are you sure?" Sayaka still looked worried not having her son along with the,- she hasn't even met the young boy yet!

Takahiro nodded his head reassuredly. "I'm extremely sure of this."

Kouki sighed but nodded. "I'll tell him. Please take care of yourselves, Takahiro-san. Sayaka-san." Everyone followed, wishing the couple good luck and farewell (although Kagami got hit in the head when he asked if they could put in a good word for him up there with 'The Big Boss'.)

Holding hands with their fingers interlocked, Takahiro and Sayaka smiled at one another and leaned in close to share their first kiss since being reunited before pulling away.

Facing forward, the couple proceeded to walk towards the light.

"Goodbye." Kouki whispered one last time before the lovers slowly started to fade away.

Suddenly feeling a bout of dizziness hit him, the omega slowly lost consciousness, the last thing he was aware of was the sound of his panicking mate and friends and the sight of the reunited couple finally gone.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"So....last night, huh?" Takao commented, taking a huge bite of his grilled pork.

After Kouki passed out last night due to complete exhaustion, everyone made their way back to the building (Seijuurou carried his sleeping mate in his arms while Kagami also did the same with Tae- though he also suffered the teasing from the others- the entire way back).

Riko told Seijuurou to let Kouki sleep in- due to the circumstances, Kouki was excused from their morning practice. Seijuurou agreed knowing how little amount of sleep the omega must have gotten during the camp.

For the final day of training camp, all the coaches announced that there would only be morning practice for all three teams.

As a special surprise, a barbecue party was being held in the afternoon for everyone to relax and chill before their buses would come to pick them up in the evening. Of course, all of the players were static about this.

Even though he was in thorough need of sleep, Kouki ended up waking up very early in the morning- his body was still in its early routine- and he only agreed to go back to sleep if Seijuurou attended his morning practice.

The redhead had actually planned on skipping his own practice and opting to staying with his mate. But the omega disagreed and managed to assure his alpha that he would be fine by himself and he would only be sleeping. Seijuurou sighed and told Kouki that he would be back before lunchtime and then they would both go together to the barbecue.

To some certain people's surprise, the barbecue party was taking place at the back of the building, the same area where the 'exorcism' had taken place.

When Kouki saw the area for the first time during the day, Kouki gasped as he saw that the once dried-up river had suddenly been revived.

A beautiful, crystal-clear river flowed through the forest, the riveting colors ranging from aquamarine to dark blue nearly sparkled, enticing the players to jump inside and swim in it.

Though some of the camp's staff (they had came back from their breaks that morning) were confused as to why and how did the river suddenly return, the new river was already being named, The Enchanted River.

Opting to stay dry, Kouki ate his barbecue together with his roommates (his mate had to temporarily leave him for a while to talk some things out with Seirin's coach about letting Kouki go back with him to Kyoto). Now as they sat in a circle on the ground, they started chatting about everything that had happened as they watched some of the players splash around in the river.

"Yeah, last night was so crazy! I mean, we actually exorcised a ghost!" Hayama exclaimed, looking very proud. He then proceeded to shove the entire beef steak that was on his plate into his mouth.

"Wasn't it technically Kuroko who exorcised her?" Kouki asked, chewing on the bell pepper from his vegetable skewer. He offered it to Kuroko.

Taking a carrot from the skewer, Kuroko commented, "Since Hayama-kun threw the salt and he and Takao-kun held down Ootsubo-san during the ritual, I'd say that we all had our hand in the exorcism." He pointed out.

Kouki nodded, "That's true."

Hayama swallowed the large piece of steak in his mouth and pounded his chest in order to get it down easier before speaking up, "So, since we can now put down 'demon exorcisms' as one of the Omega Protection Squad's special skills, wanna visit Rakuzan sometime and exorcise Reiko-san?" He grinned, eyes sparkling in excitement.

"Ooh~ or we can go to the park,near my house and try to see if we run into the Kuchisake-onna again." Takao gave them a sly grin of his own.

Kouki hastily shook his head at that. "No thanks!"

Hayama pouted at the brunette. "Aw, why not Furi?"

"Ghosts are so scary! There's no way I could go do it!" The omega shivered.

Takao raised his eyebrow at that. "But didn't you let a ghost possess you yesterday?"

"That's different!" Kouki replied.

Takao blinked. "How is it different?"

"Because Takahiro-san had my permission beforehand! I highly doubt another ghost we run into will ask politely if they wanted to posses our bodies" Kouki cried.

"Of course not...although, they might ask if they could kill us instead?" Takao smirked.

"Okay, let's stop teasing Furihata-kun now. He looks like he's going to cry." Kuroko pointed out, taking a sip of his juice. Honsestly, he was enjoying listening to the conversation and wouldn't mind joining into another exorcism in the future.

"Yeah. Besides, you shouldn't tease Furi so much Takao. He's like the leader of our squad after all." Hayama said.

Takao frowned as he looked thoughtful. "Leader? Hmm...that doesn't exactly sound right."

Kuroko nodded. "I agree. Furihata-kun is like our mascot."

Kouki had been relieved when they finally stopped talking about ghosts and exorcisms, but the new topic made him aggravated once more. "Mascot? Kuroko, I'm not like Nigou!" He said, looking insulted.

"That's right, Furi isn't our mascot neither." Takao crossed his arms as he thought about it. "Furi's roles in the squad is much more important than that. The omega protection squad revolves around him, after all." Takao pursed his lips as he took another bite of his pork. "Hmm, what's Furi's role...President is already taken..."

Hayama pounded his hand with his fist to swallow before he grinned widely. "I got it! Since Furi is the center of our group, he's like a kamisama (God)!"

Takao chuckled as he nodded his head furiously. "That's good! Furi as kamisama it is!"

Kouki blushed as he shook his head, feeling embarrassed and annoyed. "No way!"

"Namandabu. Namandabu." Kuroko chanted, putting his hands together in a praying position.

"Don't pray to me!" Kouki groaned.

Takao's laughter died down as he wiped off the tears from his eyes. Still grinning, he decided to give the omega some slack and changed the topic. "Okay, okay. Now that that's dealt with, let's talk about last night again. Did anyone bother you again, Furi?"

As everyone looked at him with worried looks, Kouki shook his head and gave them all an assuring smile. "I was able to sleep the entire night and I woke up in my own bed in the morning." He told them. Honestly, the brunette was so relieved to find himself in his boyfriend's arms when he woken up that morning (the couple slept in the infirmary last night).

"Did you ever see their son again?" Kuroko questioned.

Kouki frowned as he answered, "No, I haven't. I hope I'll be able to meet up with him one more time before we leave- I need to tell him that he needs to move on and to go join his parents." He had promised Takahiro and Sayaka that he would deal with their son. He was worried if he didn't meet up with the boy.

"I'm sure he'll show up." Kuroko told Kouki in a soothing tone.

"Okay, now let's move onto more juicer stuff." Hayama had a sly look in his eyes as he looked pointedly at Takao. "So, how's your relationship with that green-haired tsundere of yours?"

Takao had an up characterized bashful look on his face, though he tried to just grin through it as he replied happily, "We're dating now!"

The other three smiled at their friend's happiness as Kouki said, "That's great, Takao! Did you confess?"

Takao grinned even wider as he told them, "Actually, I did plan on confessing my feelings after all the ghost stuff last night, but when we got back, Shin-chan actually took me aside and in his tsundere-y way, he actually told me that even though my laugh was annoying and my manners atrocious and that I was the biggest nuisance he had ever met...if he was given a choice to change me, he said that despite everything wrong with me...he would choose to change nothing about me because I was fine the way I was and that he actually liked me for me."

Takao covered his mouth, hiding the wide grin and blush that had appeared when he remembered the confession. "It was so cute! I couldn't help but hug him and tell him that I loved him too. And even better, Shin-chan put away his tsundereness for a second and even told me he loved me too! I can't believe we're legitimately boyfriends now!" The hawk-eyed player crowed happily.

Kuroko gave him a rare smile that was actually noticeable to all of them as he congratulated the beta. "I wish for nothing but happiness for the both of you."

"Me too! You both deserve it!" Kouki upped in.

"Man, your story was just like a shoujo manga I've read once." Hayama commented.

"Yaoi manga, you mean." Takao corrected with a wink. "Okay, so since I've gotten my man, let's talk about another surprising couple that got together last night." As he said this, he sent a sly pointed look to said pair a few feet away.

Kagami and Tae were in charge of the grills, talking and laughing with one another as they handled the barbecue. It's was no surprise to them that they finally got together.

Takao whistled loud enough to capture the new couple's attention. "Taiga and Tae~ don't you think it's cute? TaiTae- like one of those celeb nicknames!" Takao teased, a huge grin on his face.

"S-shut up!" Kagami was flustered, blushing like mad. Tae's face was just as red, but there was a small smile on her face.

"Whoo...you're both so red. Wearing matching colors already?" Hayama giggled.

"We're not!" Kagami spat back. Giving the duo a death glare, he suddenly remembered something. "And by the way...Takao! Tell that green-haired bastard of yours to stop leaving his horoscope crap everywhere. This morning I woke up face to face with that creepy doll of his in my bed. I nearly died of a heart attack!" The Seirin light shivered as he remembered the creepy doll smiling at him.

Takao blinked at that before looking confused. "Eh? You mean Mii-chan? I gave Shin-chan that for Secret Santa last year. But he gave the doll to me last night since it was my lucky item- how did she end up with you this morning?"

Kagami froze. "What?"

Takao pursed his lips as he looked thoughtful. "Hm...but now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing her this morning. But I swear that she was in my arms when I went to bed...hm, strange."

"Taiga-kun, are you okay?" Tae asked her boyfriend, looking at him worried.

"You look almost as pale as Kuroko actually." Kouki pointed out, also worried for his teammate.

Kagami opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out. Finally, he shook his head and pointed a finger angrily at the hawk-eyed player. "Tell that boyfriend of yours that I'm NEVER rooming with him again. EVER. And that goes for that demon drag queen and that nocturnal alien mate of yours!" He pointed at Hayama and Kouki, referencing specifically of both Mibuchi and Seijuurou.

Everyone just looked at the Seirin ace in pity and amusement. Kuroko opened his mouth to say something. "Kagami-kun?"

Still angry, Kagami glared at his basketball partner. "What?!"

"Despite our teasing, we really are happy for the both you and Ootsubo-san. You two match very well and I must say that I'm sure you'll both get along very well...as if your soulmates." A strange glint sparkled in Kuroko's eyes again as he said this, as if he knew something no one else knew, but the smile he gave them was geunine. Kouki, Takao and Hayama were also smiling, nodding their approval as well.

Surprised and honestly happy of his best friend's approval, Kagami's anger ebbed away and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, grinning. "Thanks guys."

Tae was smiling too as she gently bowed down to the group before turning to the taller redhead. "Taiga-kun, the meat is starting to burn." Cursing, Kagami quickly went to flip over the almost charred chicken.

Takao sighed as he watched them for a moment before turning back to the others. "Okay, now that we're done with the TaiTae couple, let's move on to you guys hm? How are all your love lives going?"

"Shun and I are doing awesome as always. He was super impressed by my ghost ass-kicking skills last night." Hayama told them proudly. "And the ghost puns he told me were so hilarious! Wanna hear some?" He asked excitedly.

"No." All three of his roommates immediately shut that down.

Hayama pouted, looking very disappointed. "Aw, you guys are no fun. You're all so mean-SPIRITed!"

Takao groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Dude! We just said we didn't want to hear any puns!"

Hayama looked at him strangely. "What are you talking about?" The blonde tilted his head to the side as he went over what he had previously said in his mind. After a minute or so, his eyes lit up like a lightbulb. "Oh my god! I'm so brilliant!" Grinning madly, Hayama quickly told his friends that he'll call them later (the four friends had exchanged numbers their first night at the camp) and immediately sprinted to where his boyfriend was currently talking with his fellow third years. "Shun, babes! Wanna hear the amazing pun I just thought of?"

"Takao!" Kouki hissed.

Takao for once looked genuinely apologetic as he shrugged helplessly. "Oops- my bad."

Kuroko sighed. "What's done is done. Hopefully Izuki-senpai won't repeat any of the puns on the ride home."

"I'm actually grateful that I'll probably be going back with Rakuzan so I won't be able to hear those puns anyway." Kouki looked relieved.

Takao opened his mouth to comment before he caught sight of his new boyfriend making his way towards them. "Shin-chan!" He yelled out happily.

A blush appeared on the green-haired shooters cheeks as the tall man glared at his partner. "Must you be so insufferably loud?"

Takao merely grinned as he gave the other a thumbs up. "Yup!"

Midorima rolled his eyes, but there was a fondness in the beta's eyes as he looked at the other. "Takao, come. Coach wants to talk to the team."

Takao nodded as he stood up and looked at his two friends. "Well, gotta go! I'll see you guys on the dance floor where Shin-chan and I will be at after the team meeting's done." He told them cheerfully as he pulled his boyfriend away.

"Oi! What are you talking about? There is no dance floor and I refuse to dance-?!" Midorima continued his complaining as Takao happily pulled his boyfriend along, obviously ignoring the others protests.

Kouki sighed as he shook his head at the pair- they really did match well. Looking back at the blunette that was left, Kouki called for him.

Taking a bite from his riceball, Kuroko looked at his friend and fellow teammate when the other called his name. "Yes?"

"Well, what about you Kuroko?" Kouki smiled at the other. "Any news with your crush?"

Kuroko shook his head, sipping on his juice (he couldn't stand the uncomfortable carbonation in soda). "No. Everything's the same."

Kouki looked at the beta with imploring eyes. "So you definitely won't tell us who your crush is? Not even a hint?"

Kuroko gave him a minuscule smile, though Kouki couldn't help but feel that there was something sad about it. "It's...complicated between the two of us. We've been...apart and only been reacquainted with one another again recently. Honestly, I'm quite unsure what the future holds for us." It was the first time Kouki had heard the blunt, straightforward and strong Kuroko sound so hesitant and kinda defeated.

Kouki placed a hand on the blunette's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "If it's you Kuroko, I have faith that things will end up just fine for you." Kouki then gave Kuroko a wide grin with a wink. "Besides, your crush would be crazy not to want you. If I didn't already have Sei, I'd totally date you."

Kuroko gave a rare wide smile at Kouki, looking very grateful. "Thank you, Furihata-kun. I would date you too."

Both friends chuckled together before the sound of a throat clearing was heard. When they looked to see who it was, Kouki couldn't help but let out a squeak.

"Should I be worried about whatever you two were talking about?" Seijuurou raised an eyebrow at the duo.

"Depends on how much you heard, Akashi-kun." Kuroko replied, merely taking another bite of his juice.

"Don't worry, Sei. I'll always choose you over Kuroko- sorry Kuroko." Kouki giggled at the pout the blunette gave him while his own mate had a satisfied smirk on his lips.

"Kouki, I have received my coach's approval. You will be riding back with us to Kyoto." Seijuurou informed his mate, holding his hand out to the other.

Kouki took the hand and stood up, letting his alpha wrap an arm around his waist. "That's great! Hopefully the ride with your team will be less chaotic than mine."

The redhead gave a short scoff before rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry, love but I highly doubt it. Especially since I have heard that Nebuya has been quite disgruntled after he learned about last night's events." The dark skinned player had spent the entire morning complaining about being the only one left out from all the 'cool' ghost hunting. Nebuya was currently eating five times his weight in barbecue to eat away the heavy betrayal from the people he had thought were his best friends.

Kouki made a sympathetic sound. "Oh, I know what you mean. Kawahara and Fukuda are the same. Well, Kawahara is sulking while Fukuda scolded me for not saying something earlier."

Seijuurou sighed. "Hopefully something like this will never happen again. Right?" He gave his mate a stern look.

Kouki gulped as he nodded his head. "I'll try."

"Promise." Seijuurou demanded.

But Kouki shook his head. "I can't. I'll tell someone sooner if weird stuff happen to me again, but if it's a ghost or some other supernatural being, well, I can't really control that, right?"

"He's right." Kuroko pointed out.

Seijuurou sighed as he tightened his hold on the omega. "Make sure you tell me as soon as possible. Do not try to hide anything, Kouki." The alpha warned.

Kouki nodded as he leaned in to give the other a soft kiss on his cheek. "No hiding, that I can promise."

Seijuurou smiled at his mate as he gave the other a kiss on the lips, lingering for a second or two before pulling away and taking his hand. "Now then, may I ask you for a dance?"

The omega was surprised before looking at the direction that Seijuurou had gestured to, chuckling as he saw that Takao had indeed managed to drag Midorima to the 'dance floor' (a rocky but flat area near the river) and the two were dancing (or Takao was dancing while dragging along his stiff boyfriend) to some music playing on someone's loud phone speakers. There were also other couples and non-dating pairs dancing as well.

Kouki opened his mouth to answer before something caught his eye.

Well, 'someone' actually.

"Um, actually I need to do something first. Can you wait for five-ten minutes for me before we dance?" Kouki looked apologetic.

Seijuurou was surprised but nodded his head. "Of course. There's no problem is there?"

The brunette shook his head. "No, nothing like that. It's just that I made someone a promise and now I have to fulfill it. It's nothing bad so don't worry Sei." He assured the other.

The alpha seemed like he understood what was going on and gave the omega a nod as he leaned in to give another quick kiss. "I understand. I'll be here waiting with Tetsuya then."

Kouki smiled and waved to them as he made his way to where he spotted the tiny shadow run off too.

When he was a few feet away from the party, the area he was in was secluded and was away from lingering eyes, Kouki stood in the middle and called out, "I've been waiting for you to appear, you know."

There was a small shrill of laughter behind him and when the omega turned around, he was met face to face with a familiar head of messy, brown hair.

The boy looked up and smiled widely at him, his big gold eyes shining brightly. "You did it Kouki! You got rid of the evil stepmother!"

Kouki grinned as he looked fondly at the smaller boy. "Nice nickname." Evil stepsmother certainly was one way of describing Maria. "I had help from my friends. I couldn't have done it without them." He told the other. "I'm glad to see you Genki-kun."

Genki smiled brightly. "I'm happy to see you too! I told papa and mama that I wanted to see you one last time before I left."

Kouki's eyes widened. "Oh, so you saw your parents."

The little boy nodded. "Un. They wanted to bring me with them to the light then and there, but I told them to go first since I wanted to tell you something."

"Are you sure that's okay? What if you can't find them over there?" Kouki questioned, worried.

But Genki shook his head, still smiling. "Don't worry! Now that papa and mama are together again, we'll always be one big family. And I'll always be able to find them since in a family, no one is left behind."

Kouk smiled as he nodded. "That's right. You'll definitely find them. In fact, I'm pretty sure your parents are waiting for you as we speak."

Genki pouted as he crossed his arms. "You're right! Gosh, they're such worrywarts!"

Kouki chuckled at he reached forward to ruffle the other's hair. Strangely enough, he could barely feel anything, but there was a tingling sensation from where his hand touched it. "Let's not keep them waiting for too long, okay? What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Genki smiled at him as he said, "I want to say thank you, Kouki! For everything! Because of you, I got my mama back and papa is so happy! And the evil stepmother is finally gone forever! And now me and my family can finally get out of this place. It's so boring, you know?" He whispered the last line, making Kouki giggle. "And papa says I have to say sorry for bothering you in the first place. So I'm sorry Kouki." The little boy looked saddened at this.

Kouki shook his head as he said, "It's okay, Genki-kun. It all worked out in the end so alls well that ends well." Kouki chuckled. "Just try not to do it again, okay?"

Genki sheepishly smiled in return. "I won't, pinky-promise!"

As the two boys exchanged linked pinkies together, Genki sighed when they pulled away. "Okay, I'm done now."

Kouki smiled, tearing up a bit as he could see the little boy start to fade away, his business in this world finally done and now he was finally able to move on and join his parents. "Ne, Genki-kun?"

"Hm?" Genki looked questionably at the taller boy.

"You met your mama, right? Was she everything you had imagined her to be?" Kouki asked.

Genki blinked before he gave the biggest and brightest smile Kouki had ever seen on the boy yet. "She's even better!"

Kouki smiled, feeling full of happiness for the boy. "Good-bye, Genki-kun."

"Good-bye too, Kouki!" Genki waved as he faded away, almost completely gone by now. "Oh, and one more thing. Papa told me to give you something before I left. I put it in your pocket!" The little boy told him, a mischievous smile on his face.

Kouki looked confused as he reached into his pocket and twitched a bit in surprise when his fingertips felt something.

Pulling it out, he realized that it was a folded sheet of paper. Unfolding it and reading the writing that was on it, Kouki realized what it was.

"Ah, isn't this-" Kouki looked up from the paper and realized that Genki was no longer there anymore. Looking around, the omega was completely by himself in the area.

With a fond but sad smile, Kouki folded up the paper once more and carefully put it back in his pocket. "Thank you, Genki-kun. Take care." He said softly to the forest around him.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kouki moved his feet and made his way back to where the party was taking place.

When he got back, he noticed that most of the players were now out of the river or paused in their eating and were now dancing together in pairs or groups on the dance floor.

The brunette made his way towards his mate, where the redhead was engaged in a conversation with Seirin's shadow.

Seijuurou noticed his mate walking towards them and he smiled widely, holding a hand out for his mate. "Kouki, you're back. Did everything go well?"

Kouki smiled as he took the other's hand in his own, and soaked in the reassuring warmth that the hand gave him. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"Well, now that you are back, shall we dance?" Seijuurou asked, releasing Kouki's hold in order for the other to hold onto his arm instead.

Kouki smiled before looking questioningly at Kuroko. The blunette waved them off as he stood up. "Go on. I'll be going to the grills in order to get Kagami-kun to ask Ootsubo-san to dance." He told the couple, walking towards his basketball partner and best friend as he did so.

Kouki looked at his mate and smiled widely, letting his alpha lead him to the dance floor.

Many things had happened at the training camp, but Kouki would do it all again if he was given the chance.

Besides, in the end he got a delicious green tea cookie recipe that was folded up right in his pocket.

And he couldn't wait to try it out when he got home.


	13. Chapter 13

## A Pack Of Green Tea Pocky

"You are aware that the sign in front says that no food and drink is allowed here."

Kouki jumped up in his seat and quickly turned to see Kuroko looking back at him with the usual blank look on his face (though if you look carefully, you could see the small smirk resting on the blunette's lips).

Kouki sighed in relief when he saw that it wasn't the librarian and gave his friend a playful shove, sticking his tongue out as well. "Mou, you almost gave me a heart attack Kuroko!" He quietly moaned at the other.

Kuroko chuckled as he sat in the chair besides the brunette. "You should be ashamed for breaking the sacred library rules." The beta scolded teasingly.

It still amazed Kouki that his blue friend could easily joke around with him, especially while his face stayed in its usual deadpanned look (the brunette once tried to manually pull at the other's face to see if expression was capable...the results were too hilarious that Kouki decided to just keep it to himself).

When Kouki first met the blunette, his first impression on the ghost-like boy was that he was quiet and pretty scary (how did he keep his face blank the whole time?) but seemed nice enough.

Never had he imagined himself becoming close friends with the Seirin shadow- even going as far as not only being on the same basketball team, but also being paired up often in their library committee activities and being assigned in the same class during their second year.

It was a pleasant surprise as the omega got to know the blue beta better. And now, Kouki could honestly say that Kuroko was one of the people he not only was very close to, but the blunette was someone he most respected and looked up to.

Kouki snorted (quietly since they were in the library) and rolled his eyes. "Sacred rules, huh? I don't want to be scolded by a person who I've seen sneaking bites of vanilla biscuits not five minutes ago." He pointed out, looking directly at the pocket of the beta's uniform top.

A small grin did appear on his friend's lips as he slightly pulled out his small pack of Hello Panda treats, letting it peek out for a moment before hiding it again. "I'll give you some of my biscuits if you give me two sticks of the pocky that's inside your pocket." Kuroko compromised, looking pointedly at the Kouki's right pants pocket.

Kouki giggled quietly as he nodded and handed over the two sticks of green tea pocky while popping in some vanilla panda biscuits into his own mouth.

This actually happened so often that the two had made it a tradition to sneak in different treats into the library to snack on (so far, Kouki had only been caught twice while Kuroko unfairly had never been caught. Kouki was serious jealous of his friend's misdirection at times like this).

With a Pocky stick sticking out of Kuroko's mouth as he chewed on it (Kouki watched with envy since he knew that the blunette would still not be caught eating, even if it was so blatantly obvious) the beta asked if there was any new novels that had arrived.

One of the best perks to being in the library committee was that the committee members had first dibs on any of the new books that had just arrived- they could even borrow them before the book had made it onto the shelves.

The brunette reached over and pulled on the cart that had been behind him and push it in the other's direction. "We have about ten new arrivals. Most of them are just reference books but there is the new book that just came out in that Argeneau Series that you like." Kouki informed him. "The new volume of Spice and Wolf is here too but I'm borrowing that one first." The brunette had the book already in his bag for same keeping.

Kuroko took the book he had been waiting for months to read, Immortal Unchained, and nodded at Kouki. "Very well, but remember to give me the book next after you are through reading it please."

The omega nodded, already predicting his friend would ask for him to do just that. "Don't worry, I already listed your name after mine on the computer for reservations."

Kuroko smiled as he opened the novel in his hand and began reading it, a vanilla biscuit already melting inside his mouth.

Kouki looked around the library to check that everything was in order and when he saw the security guard was busy talking to one of the teachers, the brunette quickly took a stick of his Pocky and shoved it hurriedly in his mouth (he didn't want to get busted by the security guard for eating in the library- it hadn't happened yet, but he could never be too careful).

Silently moaning as the green tea cream on the stick melted in his mouth and the flavor mixed well with the saltiness of the crunchy stick itself, Kouki grabbed one of the novels he had taken from one of the shelves and began reading it.

The novel was an english historical fiction, but Kouki liked reading them since the stories were really good. It didn't hurt that it also helped boost his own English skills which was a great plus since he knew he would need to use it in the future, what with being the bond mate of the heir of an internationally multimillionaire company.

Kouki never really heard of the library committee until Kuroko mentioned it to him during their first year. But unlike basketball, Kouki always had a deep interest and love of books and he had secretly hoped to join a library club during his high school years.

Ever since he was young, books had been like his own personal escape from the reality that was going on around him.

With only a book, he could travel to faraway places from America to Europe or to different alternate universes like in the past during the Edo period or all the way through outer space and land on the alien planets. The world that came from just a single book astounded young Kouki and that was how his love of reading began.

The library committee was a pretty easy and layback club. Their duties were only checking in the returned books and checking out the books that someone wanted to borrow. If there were any damaged books, they needed to report them. They had to organize the books and arrange them in their proper order. If a student or teacher needed help finding a certain book, it would be their job to help them. Other than that, they were free to do their own thing if they had nothing more to do.

Kuroko and Kouki had been paired up for their library duties and both boys were happy with it since they got along very well.

They helped each other out if the other needed it and like now, when their duties were finished, they sat at the checkout desk and would read books, do their assignments, share snacks, chat together or do all four things as they waited for someone who needed help or wanted to check out their books.

About half an hour had passed and Kouki put down his book and stretched out his arms in the air, yawning. Other than being interrupted a few times to check out someone's books, the brunette was able to finish almost a third of the novel so far.

The story was pretty interesting. The author of the book was the same as the book that Kuroko was currently reading. It was a historical romance and although there were some Scottish words that Kouki had to look up online for their definition, the brunette was proud that he could understand the basic story with little difficulty and help.

Feeling a vibration from his pants, Kouki dropped his arms and took out his phone, opening it to see a message from his mate.

Reading the message, Kouki giggled as he typed in his phone and sent his reply.

Putting his phone back into his pocket, Kouki jumped when Kuroko's voice suddenly sounded, "That was Akashi-kun." The blunette had put down his book, giving Kouki a knowing look. The way he said it wasn't a question.

Kouki blushed as he was caught red handed (calls and texts were also not allowed in the library, but like the food rule, Kouki also tended to ignore this as well) and nodded. "Yeah, Sei just texted me about how boring his student council meeting was going."

Kuroko raised his eyebrow at that, looking interested. "Really? That doesn't sound like something Akashi-kun would say."

The omega chuckled as he thought of his mate fondly. "Yeah, I wouldn't believe it too a few months ago. But after dating Sei, I've learned that he is really just like the rest of us. He's normal enough that even he can be bored during school meetings too."

"You think that Akashi-kun is normal?" Kuroko questioned, sounding slightly in disbelief.

"I said normal _enough_." Kouki pointed out, grinning.

Kouki loved his alpha, but even he knew that a person who had once used his own private plane to take his boyfriend all the way to Beijing just because said boyfriend told him that he always wanted to try real dim sum was never to be considered as completely 100% normal.

But Kouki was fine with that since he loved his alpha just the way he was. Akashi Seijuurou was spontaneously crazy, especially when it came to his omega, and that was normal enough for Kouki.

"Akashi-kun is lucky to have you Furihata-kun." Kuroko smiled, finally deciding to pause in his reading for now and saved his place in the book with his Nigou bookmark that he received as a gift from Kouki himself (the blunette always looked down on people who dog-earred the pages, hence ruining the book itself).

Kouki flushed as he hastily waved his hands in the air, shaking his head. "No way. It's me who's lucky to have him. I mean, he's Akashi Seijuurou for god's sake! And I'm just...me."

The beta frowned, giving his friend a disapproving look. "That's not true. Do you really feel like you're inadequate compared to Akashi-kun?"

The brunette shook his head but replied, "No. Not really. I don't think that I'm any lesser of a person than Sei is. But...When I see the two of us together, I still can't help but think what I did to deserve someone as amazing as him, you know?" Kouki sighed, trying to get his thoughts out properly. "I think I'm a great person too. But I'm just ordinary. And Sei...he's extraordinary Kuroko."

Kuroko sighed as he gently placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze before pulling away again. Kouki was surprised since Kuroko wasn't really the type to make physical gestures often, but that just goes to show how close their friendship was.

"Furihata-kun. There are many people out there that if you ask them, they would say that you were just as extraordinary as Akashi Seijuurou is." Kuroko informed him.

Kouki blinked and then deeply flushed. "No way. There's no one who thinks that."

Kuroko gave another sigh as he fixed the omega with a stern look. "I think you're extraordinary."

The omega blushed at his friend's compliment before waving it off. "Well, only you do..."

"I'm 100% positive that Akashi-kun would agree with me also." Kuroko pointed out before he continued. "And your brother. And do not tell me that any of our teammates do not think so- you know that they think the world of you. And some of the other teams like Rakuzan and even Shuutoku think so too. And I know the other miracles would agree with me as well."

"Wait, the miracles? As in the Generation of miracles?" Kouki asked, a bewildered look on his face.

Kuroko nodded, looking dead serious (though his face tended to look nothing but that most times). "Yes. I know for sure that they know how amazing you are- maybe even more compared to Akashi-kun."

Kouki's jaw dropped as he looked at his friend in disbelief. "You're not really serious...are you?" Yeah, he more or less got along with the miracles- actually considered most of them as friends- but to think that ALL of them thought that highly of him...

"Why?" The omega questioned, confused. "Why would they all think that? I mean, Aomine-kun still calls me a chihuahua sometimes."

Kuroko sighed at that. "I apologize, Furihata-kun. Akashi-kun and I have told him to stop doing that since it bothered you. I'll make sure to talk to him again about it."

"Oh, I'm actually fine if it comes from him. I think of it as kind of a fond nickname now if it's from Aomine-kun." Kouki admitted. "Anyway, back to the topic on hand. Why do the Generation of a miracles have such a high opinion of me?"

Kuroko looked thoughtful for a moment as he chewed at the end of a green tea Pocky stick (Wait, how did he get that without Kouki's knowing?) before he looked back at the omega and said, "You know about the miracle's monthly meetings, correct?"

Kouki scrunched his eyebrows in confusion although he nodded. "Yeah, Sei told me that you guys gathered once a month to play basketball together and eat at Maji Burger. Kinda like a tradition."

The beta hummed. "That's correct. After the winter cup, more specifically after my birthday party, we decided that we didn't want our friendships to end up as badly as they did during Teiko. So we made another pact to meet up once a month in order to spend time together and keep each other updated on our lives. This is to keep our friendship strong even though we all lived far away from one another and attended different schools."

"That's...good." Kouki said slowly. He thought it was sweet that the miracles thought so much of each other that they wanted to protect their precious friendship, but the omega was still confused on where the blunette was going with all this.

Kuroko smiled, feeling the other's confusion. "Did Akashi-kun ever tell you what happened when he first announced your relationship to us?"

The brunette looked at him with wide eyes as he shook his head. "No. All Sei said was that he told you guys about us during your monthly meeting and that you guys were more-or-less okay with it. You guys were okay with it, right?" He asked, looking worried all of a sudden.

Kuroko chuckled as he nodded his head at the panicking omega. "Yes. But...hm, let me tell you exactly what happened, shall I? To start with, Akashi-kun hadn't told us about your relationship while you both were only dating. It was when you two had already bonded that the other miracles finally found out..."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Why is he always late?" Aomine grumbled, taking a big bite of his teriyaki burger. All the miracles had gathered together at Maji Burger for another one of their monthly get-togethers. No surprise, everyone but their former captain was there first and they had already ordered their meals as they waited for the redhead to arrive.

"You were late too, Aominecchi!" Kise pointed out, sticking his tongue out at the camera in his hand playfully and winking as he took a selfie.

"Fool! Stop soiling my lucky item with pictures of yourself!" Midorima scolded, reaching to take back his camera from the offended blonde's hands.

"Midorimacchi! So rude!" Kise pouted, stretching his arm out so the green-haired beta couldn't get it.

"I wanna get more french fries... and onion rings... and another cookie... maybe three more..." Murasakibara mumbled, getting up as he looked inside his wallet.

"Ooh~ Mukkun! Here!" Momoi smiled as she handed the purple giant some cash. "Can you buy me the choco-cherry milkshake too? You can also use this to purchase your food too!"

Murasakibara's eyes gleamed as he eagerly took the money. "Thanks, Sacchin!"

Momoi beamed as she turned to her seatmate, Kuroko. "Ne, ne. Do you want another vanilla milkshake also, Tetsu-kun? I'll gladly get you one if you would like?" She offered, blushing as she looked at him.

She was rewarded by one of the blunette's rare smiles as he nodded. "I would appreciate another please, Momoi-san."

The pink-haired girl smiled brightly. "Another milkshake it is! And some chicken nuggets too, please Mukkun?"

"Haiiiiii...." Murasakibara drawled as he went to the counter to order.

"Hey, Satsuki! Buy me another burger too!" Aomine said, shoving some fries in his mouth.

Momoi only stuck her tongue out at her childhood friend. "No way, Dai-chan! You still owe me money for that ecchi magazine you bought yesterday."

"Give it back to me!" Midorima demanded as he tried to get his camera from the blonde.

"Ah!" Kise gasped when the camera landed inside Aomine's opened extra large cola.

"My coke!" Aomine cried, as Midorima proceeded to strangle Kise.

Kuroko sat in his seat, leisurely sipping his almost empty milkshake as he watched his former teammates and close friends interact around him.

Even now, he still couldn't believe that he managed to not only defeat each of his former teammate's teams, but he was also able to gather all his friends together once more and they could all hang out like they used to- no animosity or grief around them anymore. All they needed was for their final member to arrive and then their group would be complete.

Just as Kuroko and Momoi managed to break up the fight that had started among Midorima, Kise and Aomine, Seijuurou had finally made his appearance.

Spotting the redhead making his way towards them, Kise grinned widely as he lifted his hand to greet the other. "Over here, Akashi...cchi?" The blonde beta trailed off as he slowly dropped his arm. Everyone at their table was now looking at the approaching redhead with wide, shocked eyes (minus Kuroko who wasn't surprised at all).

Ever since the winter cup and their match against Jabberwock, the miracles had gotten used to the more calm and approachable side of Seijuurou. So watching the redheaded alpha smiling gently as he made his way towards them wasn't unusual at all.

But what caught their attention was the very noticeable bite mark on the right side of the alpha's neck- raw and a bit red, indicating that it was still very new and healing.

And it wasn't just any random hickey- no, to anyone out there it was obvious that it was a true and official bond mark.

Akashi Seijuurou had bonded with someone.

"Holy shit..." Aomine whispered, catching a whiff of the other's new scent. There was still the cinnamon and star anise smell to him, but there was an underlying scent of marshmallows and vanilla that was completely new.

"Hello everyone. My apologies for being late- I had run into traffic on the way here." Seijuurou explained to them, taking a seat next to Kuroko.

The others, besides Kuroko, were still staring at him with dumbfounded looks on their faces, so Kuroko was the one to reply, "That's fine, Akashi-kun. We already have our food. You should also go up and take your order as well."

Seijuurou nodded. "I've already texted Atsushi my order. I will repay him when he comes."

Murasakibara then chose this moment to return, all the ordered food on a tray. "I'm back. Oh, Aka-chin is here...hm? What's that on your neck, Aka-chin? Did something bite you?" He asked, finally noticing the red mark on his friend's neck.

"More like someone." Aomine muttered under his breath to Kise.

Seijuurou chuckled as he was handed his burger, fries and iced tea from the other. "I received this bite mark from my bond mate. It's still quite new, hence why it's red. The swelling should go down once it heals."

Kise and Momoi both squealed at the announcement, Aomine raised his eyebrow, Midorima adjusted his glasses, Murasakibara nodded as he ate his fries and Kuroko merely sipped his second vanilla milkshake. "Oh my god, congratulations Akashi-kun/Akashicchi!"

"Congrats, Aka-chin." Murasakibara said lazily.

"Well, well, well...who's the lucky lady, Akashi?" Aomine grinned, looking curiously at the redhead.

Midorima turned his head towards Kuroko and raised his eyebrow, "You do not look surprised about any this?"

Kuroko shrugged. "I already knew for a while."

Kise pouted when he heard this. "That's not fair! We didn't even know he was dating anyone, let alone getting bonded! Akashicchi, you should have told us all together!"

The blunette blinked. "Actually, it was Akashi-kun's mate who told me about their bonding."

"You've already met Akashicchi's mate too, Kurokocchi?" The blonde pouted even deeper.

Kuroko nodded. "His mate is a part of my team and a close friend, after all."

"She's on your team, Tetsu-kun?" Momoi questioned. She thought about this information for a second, "But there's only one girl on your team...OH MY GOD! Akashi-kun is bonded with Miss Barely-B Cup?!"

Seijuurou chuckled at he opened his burger. "No, I am not bonded with Seirin's coach. Besides, my bond mate is very much quite male." Everyone's jaws dropped at this. If Seijuurou's mate was a man, then he had bonded with either a beta or even another alpha. It was usual for alpha-omega pairs to bond. For all betas or alpha-alpha or omega-omega pairs, the bonding ritual was not very common.

"You serious? Never thought you'd be into dudes." Aomine paused for a moment. "Never thought you'd be into anyone actually. Kinda pegged you as asexual honestly."

"Dai-chan!" Momoi smacked the dark blunette's arm for his rudeness.

Aomine shrugged her off and gave Seijuurou a leery grin. "So, whose the guy that got you interested? Is he hot at least?"

Midorima gave his friend a concerned look. "Is your father aware that you have bonded with a man? Wasn't he adamant that you produce heirs for the future of the Akashi line?" Everyone sobered at that, looking at their former captain with concern as well.

But Seijuurou only chuckled as he assured them, "There's is nothing to worry about, Shintarou. Father gets along very well with my mate- in fact, he was the one who urged us to bond as soon as possible instead of waiting until graduation."

"And I do not think there is anything to worry about concerning the continuation of the Akashi line- since Akashi's bond mate is a male omega and will be capable of birthing heirs after all," Kuroko pointed out absently, picking at the now soggy fries that he didn't really have an appetite for.

Everyone choked at that. "You got together with a male omega?" Aomine looked at him wide-eyed. Male omegas were very rare- many of them hid their statuses until they were bonded and even the bonded ones had very protective mates watching over them, so there wasn't many chances to get close to any of them. It was like, for every ten million people in the world, there would be a male omega.

Kise looked excited at this. "I only know like five male omegas from my line of work but I'm only friends with two of them. I wanna meet your mate!"

"Yeah, call him here and let's meet the guy who managed to capture the heart of the Akashi Seijuurou." Aomine teased as he sneakily tried to take one of Murasakibara's onion rings- though his hand got slapped away by the furious purple-haired alpha.

Seijuurou smiled, happy that his friends wanted to meet his mate- if their eager faces were any indication. "Kouki gets very shy around people he's not used to so I'll have you meet him another time." He apologized.

"Kouki?" Momoi questioned, thinking about which Seirin player matched that name.

"Furihata Kouki." Kuroko offered. "He's in the same year as us with brown hair and wide eyes. His jersey number is 12."

"12, huh? With brown hair and wide eyes..." Aomine looked thoughtful as he chewed on Kuroko's unwanted fries.

"Are you talking about the brunette player who went against Akashi during the winter cup?" Midorima asked, raising an eyebrow as he realized who the bond mate was.

"Wide eyes...eh. Wait." The dark blunette's eyes widened as a face appeared in his mind that matched the description that was given. A Seirin player #12 with messy brown hair and wide eyes...who looked scared shitless on the court and literally shivered in fear. "You're mated with the chihuahua?!" He looked in disbelief at Seijuurou.

"Chihuahua?" Kise repeated, frowning. Suddenly he recalled something. "Wait, you mean the brunette who went up against senpai during the winter cup?" The blonde beta brightened up as he beamed widely at Seijuurou. "Oh, he's cute!"

Momoi also remembered the brunette and clapped her hands in excitement. "I remembered Furi-kun now. But I didn't know he was an omega- I thought he was a beta." She frowned a bit, making a mental note in updating her basketball notes on the player later.

The redhead nodded, setting his burger down and taking another sip of his drink. "I also was not aware of his secondary gender while he dated. He only informed me of it about a month ago, before our bonding." He then gave Aomine a strict look. "And please do not call him a chihuahua, Daiki."

Aomine shrugged his shoulder. "Sorry but man, you're together with that guy? Isn't he scared of you or something?"

"He passed out when he saw Aka-chin during Kuro-chin's party." Murasakibara pointed out, chewing on his food as he remembered having to carry the poor guy inside.

Seijuurou frowned- he never liked to be reminded of how his mate reacted to him in the past, how scared he was of him. "It was all a misunderstanding. We've talked it out during the party and I apologized for my past actions. Afterwards, we visited one another quite often and slowly realized that there was a strong attraction between the two of us. We began dating and after a few weeks, we bonded." He explained to them.

"You two look so cute together- I approve!" Momoi told him, smiling.

"So how did you ask him out, Akashicchi?" Kise asked, eyes sparkling as he wanted to know the details.

"Actually, it was Kouki who asked me out." The alpha confessed, smiling fondly at the memory.

"Serious?" Aomine whistled, impressed.

"Furihata-kun is a very straight-forward person. Also, despite the first impression, he is one of the most bravest people I know." Kuroko told them. He didn't deliberate when curious eyes turned his way, instead he focused his attention on the cheeseburger that Aomine had urged him to eat.

Seijuurou nodded in agreement. "That's correct. Tetsuya, I am aware of your friendship with Kouki. I've been wanting to ask you for your assistance."

"My assistance regarding?" Kuroko asked, raising his eyebrow slightly at the alpha.

Seijuurou leaned forward, clasping his hands on the table in front of him. "I've been going through the many options and in the end, I truly believe that it is in Kouki's best interest for him to transfer to Rakuzan for his final schooling year. His grades are more than good enough to get in and I'll pay for any additional expenses that would be required. I also believe that he will fit in perfectly with the rest of the students and he already has friends and knows his way around the campus due to his weekend visits. But I know that convincing Kouki to transfer would be quite difficult- hence why I would like your cooperation to help me convince Kouki to-"

"No."

Seijuurou paused and blinked once at Kuroko's interruption. "Excuse me?"

Kuroko gave his usual blank look, but anyone could see the underlying fierceness behind it. "I said no. I greatly apologize Akashi-kun, but I refuse to let Furihata-kun transfer out of Seirin." He sipped his milkshake, looking completely calm at the angry alpha pheromones the redhead was now giving off.

The entire table was in silence as the others stared wide-eyed between the two, sweat dropping at their phantom player. Aomine literally face palmed at his best friend's blunt answer. Kuroko was one of the few people out there that would outright defy Akashi Seijuurou. Though that was one of the things Aomine couldn't help but admire in his ghostly buddy.

"Kurokocchi..." Kise wailed, not wanting to his adorable friend to die today.

Kuroko looked at Seijuurou quietly for a minute or two before putting his shake down and sighing. He gave the redhead a small smile. "Akashi-kun. You and I both know that it would be a wasted effort in even trying to convince Furihata-kun to transfer schools. He loves Seirin too much. He loves our basketball team and everyone in it as well. In fact, I'm not sure if you are aware, but he is the next in line to becoming captain next year- I overheard Coach and Captain talking about it a few weeks ago."

"Eh? Aka-chin's mate is gonna be captain?" Murasakibara hummed, looking uncharacteristically curious as he sipped his soda.

"Yeah, I'd thought it'd be that Bakagami or even you Tetsu." Aomine added.

The bluenette shook his head. "Kagami-kun is too hot-headed while I would just be ignored majority of the time. I agree that Furihata-kun would be the best choice for captain due to his patient personality and his careful and level-headed playing style. He is also very observant and notices things before anyone else does. I've actually wondered if maybe the reason why he's so fearful often is due to the fact that he sees and analyzes the danger of things much more than the average person- which must get quite overwhelming for him and one of the factors for his anxiety."

"Anxiety?" Midorima questioned.

Kuroko nodded. "Furihata-kun suffers from an anxiety disorder. But he handles it better nowadays."

"How bad is his disorder? Has Furihata seen a psychologist concerning his condition?" Midorima asked, concerned.

The blunette was quiet for a moment thinking before saying, "What Furihata-kun has told me about his anxiety is quite personal- only between the two of us. Though I'm certain Akashi-kun is aware as well. I feel uncomfortable giving out too many details but I will say that he has seeked help and takes medication for it."

"How observant is Furi-kun's skills?" Momoi asked curiously, sensing the mood to change the topic.

"For example, during our match with Rakuzan, I learned that Furihata-kun had noticed that there was something off about Mayuzumi-san. He didn't know what exactly, but he told me that he knew that Mayuzumi-san was similiar to someone- which later on he realized that someone was me. And his actual basketball skills are quite good- especially considering that he only started playing basketball during our first year." He explained.

"Excuse me? He only started playing last year?" Midorima questioned, looking at Kuroko.

Kuroko nodded. "That's correct. He told me once that he never even dribbled a basketball before then. He worked hard and practiced daily to get to where he is now. He plays very well- his basics are better than me even. It's only his anxiety that gets in the way of him showing his true potential."

Momoi pursed her lips as she looked thoughtful. "But if he never played basketball before, what interested Furi-kun to join your team last year?"

"The person he liked told him that she would go out with him if he could be number one in something. It was by chance that he chose that something to be basketball." Kuroko replied.

Aomine snorted at that. "That girl sounds like a bitch to me."

The blunette sighed. "I've seen her and I can tell you honestly that Furihata-kun deserved much better. Ah, but you have nothing to worry about, Akashi-kun. Furihata-kun got over her even before the winter cup started and now he continues to play because he actually enjoys the sport." Kuroko assured the other when he felt the waves of jealousy coming out of the alpha at the mention of his mate's old crush. "But do you understand now, Akashi-kun? Furihata belongs in Seirin. He's a hard worker which is what our team embodies. His play style relies on the support of his teammates- which is us, Seirin. And likewise, we need him too. So again, I apologize but I refuse to help you in convincing Furihata-kun to transfer schools."

Seijuurou frowned at him for a moment before sighing. "Yes, I assumed that would be your response. But I at least wanted to try because I also doubt I alone would be able to convince Kouki to transfer to Rakuzan." The alpha had a wistful expression on his face.

The blue-haired beta patted his shoulder as he gave him a small reassuring smile. "Do not be saddened, Akashi-kun. Since you are now both bonded with one another, you and Furihata-kun will only have to be separated for one more year. After that, you have your whole life to be together."

Seijuurou took a deep breath before returning the smile. "You are right. We have our whole lives to be together- I can wait one more year. Thank you, Tetsuya."

The tension around the table finally lessen, letting everyone breathe normally again, which was a huge relief.

"Wow, now I definitely want to meet Furihatacchi properly now!" Kise squealed, excited.

Momoi looked at the blond curiously. "Ki-kun, you added 'cchi' to Furi-kun's name." She oberserved.

Kise nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. Not only is Furihatacchi someone Kurokocchi looks highly of, but anyone whose brave enough to bond with Akashicchi deserves my complete respect!" He crossed his arms across his chest and gave a hard nod.

Momoi giggled as she too nodded. "I agree. I can't wait til you introduce him properly to us, Akashi-kun!"

Aomine leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful as he sipped his cola. "You know what, Kise has a point. There's definitely more to the chihuahua then we know. I mean, they do say to watch out for the unassuming, quiet ones. I mean, just look at Tetsu."

Kuroko gave him a side glance. "I'm not quite sure if that was a compliment or not, Aomine-kun."

"Ne, ne, Tetsu-kun? I've been wondering, but how did you and Furi-kun become such close friends?" Momoi pointed out. It was rare for the blunette to defend someone as fiercely as he did the brunette omega.

"I have also pondered this." Seijuurou confessed, facing Kuroko with inquisitive eyes. "Even during our meeting at the winter cup, Kouki had companied you there. What exactly is the relationship between you two?" Bright red eyes narrowed at blank light blue eyes.

Kuroko blinked. "Please do not worry Akashi-kun, but there is nothing but friendship between me and your mate. Furihata-kun and I can relate to each other. We have similar interests and are in the same clubs- basketball and the library committee." The blunette paused before he added. "But I supposed our friendship became closer around the time he saved me."

Seijuurou's eyes widened in surprise. "Kouki saved you?"

Everyone else also had alarmed looks on their faces as they looked at their youngest member. "Something happened to you, Kurokocchi?" Kise asked, looking worried.

Kuroko looked at them as he replied, "It's nothing to be apprehensive about, but during the beginning of my first year I may have stumble upon a bit of trouble..."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Kuroko coughed as he found himself being shoved into the cemented wall behind him.

"Still think you're all high and mighty now, you little shit?" One of the third years spat at him, giving him another hard shove into the wall, knocking more of the breath out of him.

"Fuck, the otaku's getting away!" Another third year yelled out. Kuroko peeked behind the bullies and was relieved to the small boy running away from them.

The first year blunette had been on his way to eating lunch on the school rooftop (he's usually ate in the classroom with Kagami, but the redhead was currently getting reprimanded by the teacher for sleeping in class again, hence why Kuroko was now on his own for lunch).

But on the way there, the beta noticed a group of upperclassmen trying to shake the money out of one of his fellow first years- though he recognized that the kid wasn't in his class but in the advanced class.

The blunette could not stand bullying so naturally he decided to intervene, scaring both the upperclassmen and the first year at his sudden appearance.

Now, Kuroko found himself being the target of the bullies instead. But at least he managed to get the kid away from the offenders.

"Now look what happened. Four-eyes got away because of you and now we don't got any money for lunch. How are you gonna make it up to us now, huh ghost boy?" The third year sneered.

Kuroko counted that there were three of them and they had him surrounded. Thinking of a way to escape, he replied calmly. "I'm sure your parents would have given you some lunch allowance if you had asked them." The blunette braced himself as the sharp punch landed cleanly on his stomach. He gasped in pain, groaning as he held his stomach.

"Got a mouth on ya, huh?" The upperclassman laughed cruelly as he watched Kuroko cough, facing the ground.

"Check his pockets- I bet he's got some money or maybe some food on him." The guy behind his attacker spoke up.

The third year in front of him nodded and then gave Kuroko a dark smile. "Good idea. Why don't we just beat the shit out of him first for letting the otaku get away before empty him out?" All three laughed as they closed in on Kuroko.

With him still crouched over in pain, Kuroko couldn't move fast enough to defended himself. He quickly closed his eyes and waited for the hit to come.

When the blunette felt nothing, the beta opened his eyes and looked in shock at what he saw.

Furihata Kouki, Kuroko's timid nervous teammate whose body would literally shake in terror...was in front of him, with his arm up to block the attack that had been aimed for Kuroko.

The upperclassmen paused at the intruder and when the one in front lowered his arm, Kouki immediately back away, reaching his arm stealthily to grab onto Kuroko as he urged the other to back away closer into the wall. The blunette could feel the tremors going through the brunette as the other said in a equally shaky voice, "D-Don't you d-d-dare h-hurt K-Kuro-Kuroko! G-get a-away f-f-from us n-n-n-now!" Kouki stuttered.

Kuroko felt his heart warm- even though the brunette was clearly scared out of his wits, he still tried his best to help defend Kuroko.

The upperclassmen only laughed loudly, not taking Kouki seriously. "Oh, and you expect to stop us? Let's get the both of them guys!"

The bullies aimed their attack towards Kouki. Kuroko was stunned as he watched the brunette cleanly dodge all their attacks, moving swiftly in a way that made two of the third years accidentally punch each other in the face.

He dodged his head to the left, causing the third bully to punch his fist into the wall behind them.

With the bullies out of action, Kouki took this chance to make their escape.

As the third years wailed in pain, Kouki grabbed onto Kuroko's wrist and looked at Kuroko with the most stern, commanding expression that the bluenette had ever seen on the other.

"RUN!" Kouki shouted. Kuroko didn't hesitate as he moved his legs and began running alongside the brunette, making their getaway from their attackers who they could hear had begun running after them.

"Kuroko, let's go here!" Kouki ordered him, swerving sharply to the right and directing Kuroko to slide into a skinny opening between the walls of the science building.

The pair held their breaths, hearing the bullies shouting out threats as they ran past their hiding spot. A few seconds later, there were more voices- belonging to what seemed like adults.

Kuroko peeked out from their hiding place and saw that the first year he had saved had come back with the accompaniment of the PE and Math teachers (both very large, and muscly alphas). Kuroko brightened as he realized that the boy he saved hadn't just abandoned him and had actually gone to get help.

As the upperclassmen got taken away by the teachers, together with the security guards that had arrived at the scene a moment later, Kuroko leaned back into the wall and sighed in relief.

"T-thank God t-t-they're g-gone..." Kouki sighed, sinking down to the ground and held his knees against his chest, closing his eyes as he tried to regulated his breathing to go back to normal.

Kuroko looked down at the brunette and saw how haggard and tired the other looked. The brunette was shaking badly, though he was obviously trying to control the tremors. "Are you alright, Furihata-kun?" Kuroko asked concerned. He hoped the other wasn't going into shock.

Kouki twitched a little, almost forgetting that he wasn't alone and slightly looked up at Kuroko with a tight smile before facing down again. "I-I should be a-asking you t-that K-K-Kuroko." He stuttered, laughing although he didn't sound happy at all. "I-I'm j-just...m-my a-a-anxiety....mmhm..." Kouki mumbled incoherently before going silent. Kuroko noticed that the brunette looked like he was about to- no, there were already tears streaming down his face and his hands were starting to shake even harder. His shoulders soon began to heave as the other's rapid breathing became louder.

'Ah, he's having a panic attack.' Kuroko thought as he finally realized the circumstances.

Having experienced a panic attack or two before himself, Kuroko looked away from the shivering brunette to give the other privacy from unwanted eyes, making sure not to touch the other in case it upset him further. Making sure to stay quiet, Kuroko did his best to send a few soothing waves towards the brunette- hoping the other would find his vanilla-lavender scent calming.

Kuroko listened as the other started to take deep, long breaths- hopefully in through his nose and out through the mouth. The blunette wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually he could feel Kouki's breathing evening out as he began to calm down, the tremors and shivering running through the other's body slowly lessening.

When Kouki finally stopped shaking and his breathing was quiet, Kuroko finally turned to look at the other and spoke up, "Furihata-kun. I'm going to touch your shoulder with my hand- if you feel uncomfortable please tell me or move away now."

The blunette waited a full minute and when the brunette didn't say anything or move away, Kuroko slowly reached his hand out and gently placed it on the other's shoulder. The brunette stiffened from the touch at first, but after a few seconds he relaxed once more. Kuroko smiled at this as he gave the other's shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze, "Even though it must have been very difficult and frightening for you, thank you for coming in and saving me, Furihata-kun."

Kouki took another deep breath before looking at Kuroko. Even with his eyes still teary and his sweaty hands still a bit shaky, the brunette gave Kuroko a very small smile as he said softly, "I-it's okay, Kuroko. What are t-teammates for?"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"And that's what happened." Kuroko took a long sip of his milkshake, frowning when he realized that it was empty. He told his friends everything that happened that day- though he did keep Kouki's panic attack secretly to himself (it was no one's business to know after all).

"Oh my poor Tetsu-kun!" Momoi cried, hugging Kuroko tightly to her bosom.

"Kurokocchi! You shouldn't get involved with stuff like that!" Kise groaned, remembering the time Kuroko got into trouble before at courts and Kagami and him had to save the blunette.

"Yeah, Tetsu. You should know that you don't exactly have the muscles for a brawl." Aomine furrowed his eyebrows in worry.

"This is why I've told you that you should always have your lucky item with you- you wouldn't have gotten yourself into that mess if you had." Midorima scolded him.

"Kuro-chin, who are those guys? Do you want me to crush them for you?" Murasakibara asked, frowning with a splodge of mayo on his face.

"Tetsuya, what are the names of your assaulters?" Seijuurou said darkly, eyes gleaming for retribution. How dare those barbarians attack his bond mate and former teammate/friend?

Kuroko lifted his hand and shook his head. "They are already expelled from Seirin so NO, none of you may not go after them, especially you Akashi-kun, Murasakibara-kun." Murasakibara huffed while Seijuurou narrowed his eyes but stayed quiet.

"But wow, I can't believe Furihatacchi knew how to fight." Kise commented.

Kuroko tilted his head to the side as he looked thoughtful. "He told me that his older brother sighed him up for self-defense classes in case of emergency- since it was more dangerous for Furihata-kun, being an unbonded male omega at the time and all. Although he told me that while he couldn't really punch or kick all that well, his strength lied in dodging and reflecting attacks." Seijuurou nodded his head, looking quite proud of his bond mate.

Aomine shook his head in disbelief. "See? It's always the quiet and unassuming ones. And here I thought that he was only a coward."

"Just because someone is frightened, doesn't mean they are a coward, Aomine-kun. Courage doesn't mean never being afraid- it means that even though you are scared, you still find the strength in yourself to go against your fears head on, especially if it's to help someone else out." Kuroko pointed out.

Aomine grinned as he nodded. "Yeah, I know that now. The chihuahua is completely badass. You have my approval, Akashi."

"I highly doubt he'll like being called a chihuahua, but thank you for accepting my mate, Daiki." Seijuurou told him.

"I approve of Furihatacchi too! And your smile is so much happier because of him- as long as you're happy Akashicchi, then I'll support you two!" Kise piped up, beaming brightly.

"Me too!" Momoi chirped. "If Tetsu approves of you guys, then so do I. Your relationship is so cute! And Furi-kun...I feel like even though he's so sweet and innocent, he's actually been through a lot- he's such a beautiful cinnamon roll!"

"Ooh~ cinnamon roll." Murasakibara's eyes sparkled at that. "I want to eat him."

"Thank you for your support Ryouta, Satsuki. And no you cannot eat him, Atsushi. Only I have the pleasure of doing that." Seijuurou smirked.

"Ah ho ho ho...do tell~" Aomine grinned slyly. Kise and Momoi giggled blushingly while Murasakibara pouted since he was now in the mood for cinnamon rolls.

"What is your bond mate's sign Akashi?" Midorima asked.

"Scorpio." The redhead answered.

Midorima hummed as he stated, "A love match between a Sagittarius and a Scorpio would work well- similar to the saying 'opposites attract' due to the Scorpio having the water sign while Sagittarius has the fire sign. The security and flexibility they can give to one another is the greatest gift they have between them. Once they open up to one another and learn to appreciate their different philosophies in love and in life, these two have potential for steamy relations, deep connections and heartfelt respect. As long as you and Furihata can communicate and celebrate your differences, you will both will surely have a very passionate relationship."

"Steamy relations, eh? Passionate, huh?" Aomine wriggle his eyebrows suggestively at Akashi.

Akashi merely raised his eyebrow at the other. "I do not kiss and tell."

"What about fuck and te- OW! Satsuki!" Aomine complained when the pink-haired omega hit him in the head.

"I have already given you both my approval and support but if you ever hurt Furihata-kun, you will not like what I will do to you afterwards, Akashi-kun." Kuroko warned. Even as he said this in his normal bland voice with deadpanned expression, it somehow made his words even more frightening.

The redheaded alpha nodded his head, giving the blunette a serious look. "I promise to never intentionally hurt him, and I will do everything in my power to prevent any intentional or unintentional harm that may attempt to come his way."

Kuroko searched his eyes for a minute before giving him a tiny smile. "Then I suppose on behalf of everyone here, we are all very happy for your new bonding Akashi-kun. Congratulations."

Seijuurou looked around the table of his former teammates and most importantly, his group of close friends and gave them all a soft smile. "Thank you all. Truly."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Kouki groaned as he hid his face in his hands. "I can't believe you told him about that time, Kuroko."

Kuroko looked amused at the brunette. "I apologize, Furihata-kun, but now you know why the miracles think the world of you and that they really have accepted you. They also know to never underestimate you."

Kouki blushed at the compliment. "Even though I myself don't really see what you, Sei and everyone else sees in me that's so great but...thank you."

Kuroko smiled as he chewed on the last panda biscuit he had. "It's no problem, Furihata-kun."

Kouki looked down for a while, absorbing the things that the blunette had told him before looking up and said, "You know, Kuroko. I think the same of you too."

"Hm?" Kuroko looked towards him, eyebrow raised. He once again had a green tea Pocky sticking out of his mouth as he looked questioningly at the omega.

"Well, I'm not sure I ever told you this but I think that it's YOU whose the amazing one here. I mean, I've always looked up to you- you're kinda my role model, or even idol actually." The brunette said, feeling embarrassed for his words.

Kuroko blinked. "What?"

"Um, I don't have the best self esteem and well, I know that I'm not really handsome or very smart or really athletic...don't give me that look- you know I'm not. I also don't have any special talents or really anything particularly special about me. But when I watch you play basketball or stepping in to save someone even though you know your chances of winning against the opponent is slim, or fighting for what you believe is right...I think to myself that I want to be like that too. It's okay if I'm not perfect- if I'm only average. Even if I can only do so much, even if it's just one basket that I can contribute to the team, even if I only get hurt in the end...as long as I TRY...as long as I give it my best effort...as long as I don't have any regrets, then maybe even I, Furihata Kouki, can be someone amazing too. Just like you, Kuroko." Kouki smiled shyly as he confessed his feelings.

Two bright pink spots appeared on Kuroko's cheeks as he stared wide-eyed at the other. "Furihata-kun..."

"Boys! No eating in the library!" The two boys jumped in their seats as they looked behind them to see the head librarian with her hands on her hips, giving them both an unamused glare. "Kuroko-kun, get rid of that Pocky in your mouth and I better not see anymore Pocky being taking out of your pocket, Furihata-kun."

Kouki squeaked as he hid his Pocky back into his pocket as Kuroko quickly ate up his own stick and they both bowed their heads in repent, apologizing.

When the librarian walked away, the duo both looked at one another before dissolving in quiet giggles.

"Oh my god, I can't believe she caught us!" Kouki tried to stifle his giggles.

Kuroko shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe I got caught. This is my first time ever being noticed."

As their giggles died down, Kuroko gave Kouki a gentle smile. "Thank you for thinking very highly of me, Furihata-kun." The brunette returned his smile with a shy one of his own.

As they both settled down in their seats, a group of students came up to them to check out their books. As Kouki took one of the girl's library card to scan, he heard Kuroko calling his name. "Hm?"

"But do you know something, Furihata-kun?" Kuroko asked as he handed the male student his books and gestured for the next one to come up.

"Know what?" Kouki questioned, giving the blunette a side glance before he faced back to the next student and greeted them a friendly good afternoon.

"Even though you see yourself as plain or boring or nothing special, to me and to many others out there...especially to Akashi-kun..." Kuroko nodded his head as he handed the borrower's ID back to its owner.

"...Without a doubt, Furihata-kun. You are the one who is truly extraordinary."


	14. Chapter 14

## A Slurp Of Green Tea Udon

"I'm so sorry again, Sei." Kouki apologized once more as he swept his living room floor in preparation for their guest that would be arriving soon.

"There's nothing to apologize about, Kouki. I already told you that it's fine and I find that this would be an excellent experience." Seijuurou assured him, fixing up the pillows on the couch.

Kouki and Seijuurou were supposed to go on one of their weekend dates that day, but earlier that morning Kouki had received a call from Takao.

"Oh, Takao! It's nice to hear from you- how are you and Midorima-kun doing?" Kouki greeted.

"Shin-chan is being his good ol' tsundere self and we're being as lovey-dovey as always!" Takao chirped up. The omega chuckled at his friend's exuberance, happy that the fellow couple was doing well. "Anyway, I actually called to ask you for a favor, Furi. But did you have any plans made already?"

"Ah, Sei and I were planning on going on a little date this lunchtime, but what is the favor that you wanted to ask?" Kouki inquired curiously.

Takao sighed. "Actually, Shin-chan needs someone to babysit his baby sister for today. Midorima otou-san and Midorima okaa-san both have work all day today and my own parents are managing their shop. Shin-chan and I have extended classes scheduled today...damn that Oshima-sensei..." Takao grumbled at the end.

Kouki giggled. "Wow, that sucks. I feel for you, man. Since you are all busy, I would love to watch Midorima-kun's little sister for the day! I'm sure Sei would be fine with it as well so don't worry about it."

"Really?" Takao sounded happy. "Man, Furi. That's great! Okay, I'll tell Shin-chan and we'll bring the little monkey right over. Thanks again Furi!"

After they hung up, Seijuurou had arrived at the brunette's house minutes later. To Kouki's relief, his mate was perfectly fine with the change of plans and even looked forward to meeting the little girl- it's been a long time since he went over Midorima's house for shogi and his little sister hadn't been born yet at the time.

When the doorbell rang, Kouki went to open it and was greeted by Takao, Midorima and Midorima's little sister.

"Hello Midorima-kun, hi Takao! And who's this little girl here?" Kouki looked pointedly at the little girl who in Midorima's arms.

"Hi Furi and Akashi! This little monkey is Midorima Chiasa! She's so cute right?" Takao introduced, taking one of Chiasa's little arms and using it to wave at them.

"She's quite adorable indeed. Hello Takao and Shintarou." Seijuurou greeted, standing besides Kouki as he observed the little girl.

Midorima Chiasa was a very cute and chubby baby girl. She resembled Midorima with her wide green eyes and straight, soft-looking green hair that was currently put into a high ponytail using a big poofy rose rubber band. She wore a light pink top and a short pink frilly skirt with black polka dots on them. She also had leg warmers on, colored black with pink polka dots this time.

"Good morning to you both, Akashi, Furihata." Midorima nodded to them, adjusting his hold on his sister. "Thank you both for agreeing to watch my imouto for today. I have her schedule here and this is the bag filled with all her things and clothing. There's a lot a list of her likes and dislikes in the front pocket. Okaa-san will come here after work around seven or eight to retrieve Chiasa. Furihata, do you have any experience caring for children?"

Kouki nodded, smiling at the little girl. "I used to babysit my neighbor's son when I was in middle school. May I ask how old Chiasa-chan is?"

"She's one year and nine months old." Midorima answered.

Kouki nodded at that. "My neighbor's son was two so I'm sure I'll be just fine with Chiasa-chan. Please leave her in our care."

Midorima looked down at his sister and graced her with a rare small smile. "Chiasa, onii-san and Kazu-nii-san needs to go to school now. We'll leave you in great hands so you must be on your best behavior. Okaa-san will come get you tonight." He told her gently.

Chiasa gave him a wide, toothy smile and Takao was standing beside them, just grinning widely at the whole exchange.

Midorima straightened his face to his usual stoic expression as he faced them all once more. He carefully handed Chiasa over to Kouki while Takao handed over her big lime green bag to Akashi.

"Thank you so much for looking after Chiasa-chan again! We definitely owe you one." Takao thanked them once more, giving the little girl a big kiss on the cheek, making her giggle.

"It's no problem. Good luck on your classes later!" Kouki told them as they went to leave.

"Make sure you both follow her schedule." Midorima warned them, getting into the rickshaw after winning janken with Takao.

"We will. Do not worry, Shintarou. Your sister is in great hands." Seijuurou assured him, adjusting the bag on his shoulder.

"Okay. Say bye bye to your onii-san's Chiasa-chan! Bye bye!" Kouki waved Chiasa's little arm at the departing two.

When they were gone, Kouki's smile dropped as he looked at the little girl in his arms. "Ah..."

"What's wrong?" Seijuurou asked, looking at him worriedly.

"He gone..." Chiasa quietly said, looking stunned.

"I didn't think she'd be THAT shocked when they left." Kouki grimaced, looked at the wide-eyed Chiasa in his arms, looking at the retreating backs of her onii-san's.

"I'm sure she'll be just fine, Kouki." Akashi assured him.

Chiasa was not fine.

About two minutes after they entered the living room, Chiasa started to cry loudly. Kouki had put her down and Chiasa had begun to point at the door, bawling her eyes out.

"Nii-nii! Nii-nii~" Chiasa cried, pointing at the closed door.

"Nii-nii? You want your onii-san?" Kouki asked, looking sadly at the little girl.

"I miss nii-nii..." Chiasa sobbed, still pointing.

"You miss Midorima-kun?" The brunette asked, crouching down to the little girl's level.

Chiasa then suddenly became quiet, her face still sad.

"What's the matter? Why is she suddenly quiet?" Seijuurou wondered, also sitting next to Kouki to look at the little green-haired girl.

"Do you miss your nii-nii?" Kouki asked again, trying to get an answer out of Chiasa.

But Chiasa only began walking around slowly, looking very somber and listless.

Kouki couldn't help but giggle a bit since even when sad, the little girl was very cute. "Wow. She's really depressed right now."

Seijuurou looked into her bag, trying to see if there was anything inside that could help. "Ah, there's a ball in here." He said, pulling out a big orange rubber ball. Bouncing it on the floor a few times, he said "Chiasa, would you like to play with this ball?" But Chiasa just ignored him, still keeping her somber gaze on the floor as she walked around.

Kouki also pulled out a tiny pink teddy bear that peeled with laughter when you pressed it. Laughing along with the bear, Kouki tried to grab Chiasa's attention with it. "Here Chiasa, isn't this so funny?" Kouki laughed, smiling at the little girl.

Unfortunately, all Chiasa did was drop to her knees and give him an unamused look.

"Chiasa indeed has quite the resemblance to Shintarou." Seijuurou observed, making Kouki snort as the look on Chiasa's face was exactly just like that of her older brother's.

That moodiness was definitely an inherited trait.

As the pair continued to try cheer the young girl up, they noticed her getting sleepy.

"Ah, she looks tried. Maybe we should lie her down?" Kouki suggested, cradling the little girl in his arms.

The redhead reached into the baby bag and pulled out her sleeping mat and pink pillow. Laying it on the floor, he gestured for the omega to lay the girl down.

Unfortunately, when Kouki tried to lay her down, Chiasa suddenly awoke with a vengeance.

"Waaaahhhh~! Nii-nii!!!" Chiasa cried, sitting down on the floor and not wanting to be laid down. Kouki and Seijuurou looked helplessly at one another before looking back at the crying little girl. "I wan nii-nii...Nii-nii!..." In the middle of her crying, Chiasa suddenly let out a huge yawn, making both boys chuckle a bit.

"Infants are very interesting- being able to yawn while crying is quite the feat." Seijuurou commented, raising an eyebrow at the still crying and yawning girl.

"Yeah. I'd never be able to do that." Kouki giggled, shaking his head. "I'm sure she's just cranky and just needs a nap. Here, Sei. Why don't you hold her?" The brunette ignored his mate's alarmed expression as he reached for the girl and gently placed her into the alpha's arms.

"Kouki, um...are you sure this is a smart decision?" Seijuurou asked and for a rare moment, Kouki got to see the Akashi Seijuurou look completely out of his depth during a situation.

Kouki grinned at his mate's awkward position and told him, "Why, Sei. Don't tell me that you're actually scared of this little girl?" He teased.

Seijuurou glared at him, though it wasn't very imitating due to the clear panic on his face. "Of course not. I am perfectly fine with- AH! Wait, she's started to move too much! Kouki, help me before she falls!" The redhead began to meltdown as Chiasa started to wail louder, kicking and punching, trying to get out of the alpha's hold.

Kouki giggled and finally decided to help his stressed boyfriend out. "Okay. Don't panic Sei. Just put your arms here and...yup, that's right. Now let her put her chin on your shoulder...yes...and slowly rub her back like this. That's good. See? You're doing just fine." Kouki smiled as he watched his mate slowly calm the now quietening girl.

Seijuurou looked relieved when Chiasa's cries died down, looking at Kouki with a grateful look. "Thank you Kouki. I'm not sure what I would do without you."

Kouki beamed at him. "You're doing amazing Sei. But it was surprisingly seeing you panic like that. Are you not used to kids?" He asked curiously.

"I've never even touched one before." The redhead admitted, looking sheepish.

Kouki laughed a bit at that. "Yeah, I can see that." Looking at the girl in the other's arms, Kouki noted that she was fast asleep- drooling slightly on his mate's shoulder.

"Ah, she's drooling a bit. Wait, let me wipe it off." Grabbing one of the cloths from the bag, Kouki brought it up to wipe the drool off.

Seijuurou made a small noise. "She's already asleep after all that crying?" He questioned in disbelief.

Kouki nodded, hearing Chiasa snore lightly against Seijuurou. "Yup. Babies are pretty incredible that way." Moving away, Kouki fixed up the sleeping mat and pillow, finding a small blue blanket from the bag (the pair raised their eyebrows at the horoscope signs on the blanket) and laid everything out. "Why don't you set her down now? Be very careful not to jostle her too much though." The brunette warned.

Seijuurou slowly brought the young girl down, laying her head gently on the pillow. But when he started to move away, Chiasa made a quiet noise, making the redhead panic and quickly embraced her once more.

Kouki began snorting, trying to swallow his laughter at his mate's current position. The redhead was embracing Chiasa on the mat, his face hidden in her shoulder, and his body in an uncomfortable crouched down position with his butt sticking in the air. And Chiasa was practically clutching tightly at his arms, not willing to let go.

"Kouki. Surely you are not laughing at your bond mate while he is in a very undignified situation right now, am I correct?" Seijuurou said in a playfully threatening tone, his words coming out roughly as his face was still mashed against Chiasa's shoulder.

Kouki coughed lightly, unable to stop a chuckle from coming out. "Of course not, haha, Sei. You look...mph!...very good actually. I'm totally admiring the view, by the way." The omega assured him, eyeing his mate's behind.

Seijuurou shifted his face slightly so he could glare teasingly at him. "Kouki..."

The brunette couldn't help but giggle at the offended look the other sent him. Leaning down to give the alpha a small peck in the lips, he pulled back and grinned widely. "Don't worry Sei, I'm sure she'll let go of you...eventually." He nodded as he went to look at the schedule that Midorima had given him.

10:00- 12:00 Playtime  
12:00- 1:00 Lunch  
1:00- 3:00 Nap  
3:00- 5:00 Walk  
6:00- 7:00 Bathtime  
7:00- 8:00 Dinner  
8:00~ Bedtime

"Hm...well, it's almost eleven now. We can let her sleep for an hour and prepare her lunch in the meantime. After her lunch, we can let her nap for another hour and then we can take her out from 2:00- 5:00. Then we can just follow the rest of her schedule." Kouki commented, looking at the redhead for his opinion.

Seijuurou hummed as he agreed. "I think that'll be acceptable. She'll still have the same amount of sleep and excercise needed, so I'm sure the changes will be alright."

Kouki sighed happily, as he re-folded the schedule and put it back into the bag. Standing up to stretch his legs, Kouki said, "Okay, then I guess I'm off to prepare lunch for the three of us. You watch Chiasa in the meantime, okay?"

Seijuurou made an uncharacteristic sound as he looked at his mate with an incredulous expression. "Surely you are not abandoning me right now? And in this position?" He demanded.

Kouki smiled sweetly at him as he gave his alpha's butt (which was still sticking out) a loving pat. "Don't worry, Sei. I'm sure you'll be able to handle a sleeping little girl."

"I can't move, Kouki!" Seijuurou replied with a touch of panic in his tone.

"Give it ten more minutes. And then I'm sure you'll be able to get out of her hold without her waking." The brunette replied cheekily, walking away. "Good luck, Sei! I believe in you!" He cheered quietly, giggling as he exited the room, hearing the soft curses the redhead was making under his breath.

Kouki really did have faith that his boyfriend could handle the green-haired girl while he prepared lunch- if he didn't believe in the other, there would be no way he'd ever leave the girl alone with him.

And he also just couldn't resist the chance at seeing his perfectly composed mate turn into a panicking mess every once in a while.

In the kitchen, Kouki looked inside his fridge to see what he could cook up for their lunch. On the list of things that Chiasa liked, Kouki read that her favorite foods were noodles and pasta. And also that her meals usually contained lots of calcium.

Nodding to himself, Kouki decided to make udon for lunch and spaghetti for dinner.

Since he had ramen the night before, Kouki decided to cook a small bowl of udon with kamaboko for Chiasa and make some green tea stir-fried udon for both Seijuurou and himself.

Simmering a simple broth of dashi, soy sauce and mirin, Kouki began to boil the udon noodles.

For the stir-fried udon, Kouki started to mince the ginger and cut up the tofu, red and yellow bell pepper and scallions. Heating up the canola oil inside a pan, he added the ingredients he had just prepared (minus the scallions) and sautéed them together.

He then added the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ground black pepper and the green tea powder. After a minute of frying, he added some of the cooked udon inside and stir fried everything together.

Turning off the heat, the brunette brought the pan and evenly distributed the udon onto two plates. Lastly, he garnished the dishes with the chopped scallions and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

He placed the leftover boiled noodles inside a tiny bowl, pouring the broth in as well. He topped Chiasa's udon bowl with some kamaboko slices that he cut up into cute flower shapes.

Nodding his head at his finished work, Kouki decided to leave the food to cool off and headed back to the other room to check up on Chiasa and Seijuurou.

Carefully tip-toeing into the room, Kouki gasped and his heart completely melted at the sight before him.

On top of the sleeping mat, both Chiasa and Seijuurou were both fast asleep.

Both their heads shared Chiasa's fluffy pink princess pillow and they were both on their backs, completely knocked out and letting out tiny snores.

Kouki cooed over them as he quietly pulled out his phone and took a few shots of the scene. He would definitely transfer the photos onto his laptop later for safekeeping.

Taking a seat besides Chiasa, Kouki smiled gently at the two for a while before checking the time and noting that it was indeed time for lunch. Reaching over, the brunette gently shook his mate awake.

Seijuurou slowly opened his eyes, blinking confusedly for a second before widening his eyes and quickly sitting up. He looked frantically for Chiasa, but after seeing the still slumbering girl, he calmed down and gave a small yawn.

"Have a nice nap, Sei?" Kouki teased, lifting his hand to fix his boyfriend's messy bedhair.

The redhead gave him a sheepish grin as he nodded. "I apologize for falling asleep. I didn't get much rest last night due to one of the student council meetings ending later than usual. Watching Chiasa sleeping must have made me tired as well." He explained.

Kouki shook his head, smiling widely at the other. "It's fine Sei. Feel free to sleep more if you want to- I just wanted to let you know that it was time for lunch." He told him gently.

Seijuurou declined the offer to sleep more and went to get their lunch as Kouki carefully shook Chiasa awake.

Fortunately, the little girl only yawned and let herself go quietly into Kouki's arms. She yawned as she looked around the room with a straight face. The brunette figured that the little girl was only cranky earlier due to needing a nap and looked like she was in a much better mood now.

Seijuurou brought in their lunches from the kitchen, carefully placing it onto the low table in the living room.

For Chiasa, Kouki prepared udon with kamaboko, a cup of plain yogurt and a few white milk cheese slices. He also had a small cup of water for her to drink. And for the two guys, they had their plates of stir-fried udon and glasses of iced water.

Kouki spooned yogurt into Chiasa's mouth, praising her when she took in each spoonful, making cute eating noises.

"Sei, why don't you feed some udon to Chiasa-chan before it gets cold?" Kouki offered.

Seijuurou nodded as he reached for the tiny bowl and carefully fed Chiasa one thick noodle of udon.

"It's quite intriguing, I myself would never eat udon right after consuming yogurt." Seijuurou commented, watching the little girl reach for more udon, with some white yogurt all over her lips.

Kouki grinned as he wiped off some of the yogurt. "I'm sure she doesn't mind at all." Looking down at Chiasa, he asked, "Ne, Chiasa-chan? Does the yogurt and udon taste good?"

"Mph!" Chiasa grunted, reaching for more of the yogurt.

"Do you approve of Kouki's cooking, Chiasa?" Seijuurou questioned.

"Mph!" The little girl grunted once more but this time she gave them a bright smile, making both boys chuckle fondly at her. Kouki lightly pinched one of the little girl's cheeks, making her let out a tiny giggle.

"She must have just needed a good nap and some food in her belly. My goodness, she looks much better now." Kouki pointed out, relieved that they seemed to finally be on Chiasa's good side.

The three of them continued eating, with Kouki and Seijuurou taking turns to feed Chiasa. They even fed each other some of their own meals whenever the over was too busy attending to Chiasa.

When Chiasa went to get some of the cheese, she grabbed two slices of cheese in both of her hands and took a nice bite out of both of them.

Kouki laughed as Seijuurou took a photo with Kouki's phone, which the brunette asked for a picture of.

"Nice...two cheeses at the same time. That's my girl." Kouki cooed, watching as the little girl consumed all her cheese.

"Yummy!" Chiasa exclaimed, giving them a wide toothy smile. They both couldn't help but laugh at that.

"I'm sorry Kouki, but I'm positive that she's enjoying the cheese more than your own cooking." Seijuurou pointed out, not really looking apologetic.

Kouki waved it off, still laughing. "That's fine. I'm just really happy that's she looks much more cheerful now."

When they finished their meals, Seijuurou insisted that Kouki stay with Chiasa while he would do the dishes since the omega had been the one to prepare the meal.

Kouki tried to get Chiasa to take one more short nap, but it only lasted for about twenty minutes before she awoke again and was much more stubborn and energetic.

They decided to abandon her nap in the end and all three of them started to draw pictures on the floor.

"Chiasa-chan, you're so good! You're like an artist!" Kouki praised. Chiasa beamed at the compliment. "Is that a cat you're drawing?" He asked, pointing to her picture. It was a picture of a very vague but still somewhat cat-like orange tabby cat.

"Yes! Tis is kitty!" Chiasa showed him proudly.

Kouki smiled at her back, gently patting her on the head. When the brunette went to take a peek at what his mate was drawing intently besides them, he raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and Sei...that looks great! Your cow looks really realistic."

The alpha paused as he narrowed his eyes at the other. "...It's supposed to be a panda."

Kouki blanched at that before giving the other an apologetic grin, "Ah, that was my second guess. But yeah, it really does look like a panda. No, really...it really does."

Seijuurou shook his head at the other's obvious lie and gave his mate a playfully poke on his side, making the other squawk in laughter. "Alright, I'm obviously lacking in the artistic department. What have you drawn Kouki?" He inquired, looking at the other's faced down paper.

Kouki showed his drawing, blushing at the gasps of awe he received from the other two.

Even though he had only lightly sketched it, his drawing was an exact replica of Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service, with her broom and all.

"Kiki!" Chiasa exclaimed, looking at the drawing with amazement.

"You should be an artist, love." Seijuurou complimented the other.

Face bright red, Kouki just waved them off. "Oh, this is just a doodle, nothing special really. But thank you."

After giving Kouki's drawing to Chiasa after she had asked if she could keep it, the guys decided that it was time to take the little girl out for her walk and for some fresh air.

"You're doing very well, Sei." Kouki complimented, watching his mate change a baby's diaper for the first time (with direction from Kouki, of course).

"I think I have Chiasa to thank for not making it too difficult." The redhead admitted, smiling gently at the little girl below him.

Kouki nodded. "Yeah, I remember when I first changed my neighbor's son- I realized how hard it was to change a boy, especially if you just leave their privates in the open. While changing his diaper, he ended peeing right on my chest." Kouki shivered at the memory, giving his mate a glare when the other let out a laugh.

They changed Chiasa into her outgoing clothing- a pale yellow t-shirt with Mickey Mouse in the front, faded blue jeans and a small pair of light-up sneakers. Kouki fixed up Chiasa's hair into pigtails and straightened out her bangs.

With Chiasa in Seijuurou's arms, the three all left the house and made their way to the park.

When they arrived, they were the only ones around. The pair let the little girl run around, playing with some of the birds and watching as she played with some of the sand in the sandbox.

"I go side?" She asked, looking at the both of them with wide eyes as she pointed to the tall slide.

"Of course, honey." Kouki nodded. "Just let us help you up, okay?"

Chiasa ended up sliding down about ten times, always sliding into either Kouki's or Seijuurou's arms at the bottom. They then pushed her on the swings and Chiasa went on the monkey bars while she was held up by Seijuurou.

Kouki snapped a few secret shots here and there, grinning wildly at how happy and fun it all was.

Later on, Seijuurou brought out some bubbles that were in one of the pocket's of Chiasa's bag. He blew bubbles, laughing as both Chiasa and Kouki ran around to pop them all.

When the trio was finally tired, they decided to take a short rest at one of the benches.

"Let's make a stop at the shopping district after this. I have to buy ingredients for dinner." Kouki told Seijuurou as they sipped their drinks. They all got ramune drinks from the nearby vending machine.

"That's fine. What are you planning on making for dinner?" Seijuurou asked curiously.

"I'm making naporitan spaghetti. But I'm gonna make it super simple so Chiasa will be able to eat it." Kouki told him.

"That's sounds delicious." Seijuurou smiled.

After they rested, Chiasa was back in Seijuurou's arms as the three went to go grocery shopping.

As they walked down the shopping district, the trio received many greetings and compliments of 'My, what a good-looking young family' and 'Your daughter is so cute! You've given birth to such a sweetheart'. Kouki was blushing profusely at their comments while Seijuurou was grinning proudly the entire time.

Kouki tried to correct the elderly shopkeepers, but decided to just let it go in the end (especially after he received a nice bag full of ripe cherry tomatoes from one of the Obaa-san's that he would definitely use later for the spaghetti).

"I wan dat!" Chiasa said at one point, trying to reach for one of the candies on display.

"What do we say if we want something?" Seijuurou gently reminded her, giving her a stern look.

Chiasa thought about it for a moment before chirping up, "Candy pease?"

Seijuurou smiled as he nodded, grabbing one of the pink colored candies. "Good girl. Here, you can have one."

Kouki, who had been looking at what type of spaghetti noodle to get, watched the scene with a smile on his face. He jumped a bit when he heard someone sigh at the side.

"They are such an adorable sight to watch, you must be such a proud parent." An elderly woman commented besides him.

Kouki smiled bashfully as he nodded. "Yeah, I'm really very lucky to have them."

After getting all of their ingredients, the trio headed home, this time Chiasa was carried by Kouki as Seijuurou carried all the shopping bags.

As they went home, Kouki announced that they would take a bath first before having dinner. He was a bit hesitant since the list he received from Midorima said that Chiasa greatly disliked baths.

And right on cue, as soon as he announced the bath, Chiasa immediately shook her head, "No! Dun wan bath."

"Yes! We shall take a bath." Kouki countered, carrying her toward the tub as Seijuurou went to gather Chiasa's nighttime clothes.

"No bath!" Chiasa repeated.

"Yes bath!" Kouki sang, going inside the bathroom. He turned on the faucet, filling up the bath tub.

Placing the little girl on the ground, Kouki instructed "Banzai! Oh, good girl." Despite not wanting a bath, Chiasa raised up her arms with no fuss, letting Kouki remove her shirt.

Seijuurou chuckled when he entered the room, seeing Chiasa getting somewhat caught in her shirt. "She's really quite adorable."

Kouki chuckled along with him. "Yeah, she is." After finally freeing her from the shirt, Kouki checked to see if the water was warm.

After the tub was filled, he and Seijuurou folded up their pants to avoid getting wet and carefully placed a naked Chiasa inside the tub.

Despite their worries, Chiasa looked to be perfectly fine inside the tub, playing around with the water and her squeaky ball that was also placed inside.

"She seems to be doing well so far." Seijuurou hummed, looking as the little girl splashed the water happily.

"Maybe she doesn't like it when the water goes into her face?" Kouki suggested, grabbing the bath cup and pouring water onto Chiasa's body.

They lathered and washed the little girl's body before moving on to her long green hair.

"Okay Chiasa-chan, close your eyes!" Kouki sang out as he tried to cover her face with his hands as Seijuurou poured water over her head.

Immediately, Chiasa's let out a small cry, making both guys pause as they checked her. "Chiasa-chan, are you okay?" Kouki asked, checking the girl's face. Her face was wet, but thankfully she didn't cry as she blinked away some of the water drops from her eyelashes.

"Is she alright?" Seijuurou asked worriedly, trying to check the little girl.

Kouki nodded. "Yeah, I think she was just taken off guard at first. I'm pretty pretty sure she'll be fine from now on." He reassured his mate.

With no further problems, Chiasa finished her bath. They took her out and dried her with her power ranger towel. Dressing her in a light green night dress with falling leaves printed on it, they brought Chiasa to the living room to blow dry her hair.

Leaving Seijuurou to dry Chiasa's hair, Kouki went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

He kept it simple as he started to boil the noodles. He then cut up onions, button mushrooms and green peppers for the sauce (he cut them into small pieces so it would be easier for Chiasa to eat in case she didn't like vegetables). Frying them in a pan, he added the tomato sauce and let it all simmer.

In a separate pan, he cooked up some octopus hotdogs to place on top of the spaghetti.

With the noodles and hotdogs done, Kouki lowered the heat for the sauce and decided to go back to the living room as he waited for the sauce to finish cooking.

He smiled as he came into the room, seeing Seijuurou sitting on the couch as he watched an excited Chiasa jumping around the room, holding her little wand toy, as she watched something on tv.

"Wow, Chiasa-chan looks like she's enjoying herself there." Kouki sighed, sitting next to his mate and smiling when the other gave him a peck on the cheek.

"According to Shintarou's list, Chiasa is an avid fan of the movie, Spirited Away. Coincidentally, I found it playing on this channel, but I think it's ending soon." Seijuurou told him, wrapping his arm around his mate as they both watched Chiasa, rather then the movie.

"I love Spirited Away. When it first came out, I actually forced nii-san to bring me to the theater about three times so I could watch it over and over." Kouki laughed, remembering the suffering look on his brother's face when he had begged the older to bring him to see the movie.

Seijuurou also chuckled along. "I've actually never watched this movie before. I've never been a fan of televison and the sort when I was young. I was always immersed in my studies and music as a child." He admitted.

Kouki turned to give the redhead a wide-eyed look. "Wait, you've NEVER watched Spirited Away? What about My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle? You've never cried from Grave of the Fireflies? Have you even heard of Studio Ghibli?" The brunette demanded.

At the blank look on the alpha's face, Kouki sighed mournfully. "Next weekend. We are SO going to have a movie marathon. No complaints. And I'm inviting Kawahara and Fukuda so you don't distract me during the movies like I know you would end up doing." Kouki warned, glaring playfully at the other.

Seijuurou laughed as he nodded his head, reaching over to kiss the other in the cheek. "Then I'll look forward to it, love."

Kouki sighed loudly as he cuddled closer to his mate. "My god. How could a japanese person NOT have watched Spirited Away? Wait until I tell Kawahara- prepare for a looooong lecture about the greatest japanese films of all time. He's very passionate about it, you know. Ah, and we'll have to add 'Kimi No Na Wa' to the marathon as well- it's not a Studio Ghibli, but I am a huge fan of that movie!"

A few minutes of watching the movie, Chiasa joined the two on the couch and the pair smiled fondly as she chatted about the main girl and giggled at parts in the movie.

When the movie ended, Kouki stood up and stretched his arms in the air. "Okay, let's go into the kitchen and have some dinner! Chiasa-chan, what do you say about having...spaghetti?"

"Yeah! Ghetti!" Chiasa cheered and grabbed both Kouki and Seijuurou's hands, giggling as she pulled them into the dining room.

As Seijuurou and Chiasa sat at the table, Kouki went back to bring in their dinner.

Tossing the noodles with the sauce, Kouki placed the spaghetti onto three plates- one place having a smaller serving than the other two. He then placed the octopus hotdogs on the plates, putting the two best shaped ones on Chiasa's plate.

Digging into their meal, Seijuurou complimented Kouki on the delicious meal while Chiasa made her noises of approval as Kouki help feed her. When Seijuurou took his turn to feed Chiasa, Kouki shook a few drops of Tabasco onto his own plate (he liked his spaghetti on the spicier side) and dug into his own meal.

Halfway through the meal, the opening of the front door was suddenly heard.

"Tadaima!" Kouki's older brother, Kouta, yelled out in greeting.

"Okaeri, nii-san! We're here in the dining room eating dinner." Kouki called back, wiping up some sauce on Chiasa's chin.

"I smell spaghetti! Damn, I'm starving." Coming into the kitchen Kouta raised his hand in greeting as he had a wide smile on his face. "I can't wait till I graduate- thesis is such a killer. Yo, Seijuurou! It's been a while since I've seen you since my thesis has been like my girlfriend for the last month. How are you do- eh?" Kouya paused as he finally noticed the little girl, hiding slightly behind Kouki as she looked warily at the newcomer.

Kouta blinked a few times, taking in the little girl in front of him. Then suddenly, he let out a long sigh. "I've been missing in action for almost a month and you've managed to reproduce with your alpha, huh Kouki?" He sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

Kouki blushed a hot red and threw a napkin at his brother. "That's NOT what happened and you know it nii-san!" He yelled.

Seijuurou on the other hand looked amused. "I've been wondering this, but why do people think Chiasa is ours? I mean, how does red plus brown equal green?"

"Sounds like a Christmas tree." Kouta snorted, putting his bag down on one of the chairs.

The redheaded alpha looked thoughtful. "Well, there's always adoption, I suppose."

Kouki shook his head at him. "Sei, you are so not helping things." Looking back at his brother, he explained about looking after Midorima's little sister for the day.

"Ah, yeah...I guess there's that as well." Kouta shrugged as he kneeled down at eye level with Chiasa and gave the young girl a bright smile. "Hello Chiasa-chan! It's very nice to meet you. My name is Furihata Kouta but you can call me Kouta-nii, okay? I'm Kouki's nii-san." He introduced himself, holding his hand out.

Chiasa looked at him suspiciously before looking up at Kouki and Seijuurou for approval. At their nods, Chiasa looked back at Kouta, "My name is Midowima Chiasa. Very nice to meet wu." She said politely- her big brother taught her to how to introduce herself nicely.

Kouta smiled widened as Chiasa took his hand and they both shook. Standing back up, he told Kouki, "I still got to do some revisions on my thesis so I'll be taking my dinner upstairs- this is gonna be another all-nighter so just try to keep things down."

Kouki nodded as he handed his brother the tobasco bottle (the brothers had similar tastes). "There's spaghetti in the kitchen- just make yourself a plate."

Kouta nodded as he waved them all goodbye and went into the kitchen.

The trio continued to eat their meals, Kouki and Seijuurou listening as Chiasa told them a story about something that was about thirty percent understandable and seventy percent gibberish mixed with excited garbles.

At the end of their meal, the doorbell suddenly rang. The trio paused as Seijuurou checked the time. "Ah, it's about time for Chiasa's mother to come and pick her up." He informed them.

Kouki felt a bit saddened about this as he stood up to answer the door.

Midorima's mother was tall- about one inch shorter than Midorima himself. She looked like she had just gotten off work, wearing her business dress suit. Her look was much softer than Midorima, resembling Chiasa very much. And her green hair was in a straight long bob.

Smiling kindly at him, Midorima's mother greeted him, "Good evening. You must be Furihata-kun. My name is Midorima Akira, mother of Shintarou and Chiasa. My son had informed me that you and Akashi-kun had agreed to watch over Chiasa for today. Thank you so much for both your help and I insist on paying you both for your troubles."

"No, no. There's no need to pay." Kouki shook his head, stopping Akira from pulling out money from her purse. "Sei and I were happy to look after Chiasa-chan."

Kouki invited Akira inside and told her that Chiasa had just finished her dinner in the dining room.

"Chiasa, look who's here to see you." Kouki sang out, looking at a confused Chiasa.

"Chiasa, mama's here!" Akira smiled, waving at her daughter as she entered the room.

A bright smile bloomed on Chiasa's face as soon as she saw her mother. "Mama! Mama!"

Seijuurou chuckled as pulled away a strand of hair that was in Chiasa's face. "Now this must be the brightest smile she had given all day." He faced Akira and gave her a small bow. "It's good to see you again, Midorima-san."

Akira smiled at him. "It's been quite a while, Akashi-kun. You look very well- having a bond mate suits you, indeed. You must visit our house again sometime- Shintarou has been missing your usual shogi visits very much."

Seijuurou chuckled as he nodded. "I miss playing shogi with Shintarou as well- I'll be sure to come visit soon."

Akira shifted her attention back to her daughter, pulling her out of the chair and cuddling with her. "I missed you so much, Chiasa! I hope you were on your best behavior for these two onii-sans today."

"She was a bit cranky when Midorima-kun first dropped her off, but after her nap and some food, she was an angel for the entire day." Kouki reassured the mother.

Akira sighed in relief as she showered kisses onto Chiasa's face, making the little girl giggle. "I'm glad. Okay, since Chiasa looks like she's done eating, I'm sorry to say that we must head home now- I have an early appointment in the morning and I'll have to get up early tomorrow. Furihata-kun, Seijuurou-kun, are you sure you don't want any payment for babysitting Chiasa?"

But both politely declined the offer before turning back to Chiasa as they gave their goodbyes.

"Chiasa-chan! Make sure to be a good girl for your mama and that you come and see us again soon, okay?" Kouki said, tearing up a bit as he was finally saying goodbye to the little adorable girl.

"Okay! I see wu again!" Chiasa smiled widely, making Kouki laugh as he nodded.

Seijuurou came close to Chiasa, and gently held her hand as he looked at her. "Chiasa, it was quite an enlightening experience looking after you today. May you grow up to be a beautiful and kind woman and make sure you come visit us again. We would also love to watch over you again- I was quite fond of experiencing what it would be like to have a child with Kouki. Honestly, it has made me made excited for our future."

"Sei!" Kouki scolded, blushing hard as he slapped his mate in the shoulder.

Akira laughed as Chiasa nodded at Seijuurou. "Okay! I see wu again too!"

"Why don't you give them a kiss, Chiasa?" Akira suggested. Chiasa gave both the boys a wet but cute peck on their cheeks, bouncing happily in her mother's arms as she giggled.

As they saw the mother and daughter to the door, Kouki also handed the mother Chiasa's bag with all her things inside.

Waving with Chiasa's hand, Akira sang out, "Okay, Chiasa. Say bye bye to your nice onii-san's. Bye bye!"

"Bye bye!" Chiasa mimicked, waving goodbye to them.

"Good bye!" Both Kouki and Seijuurou waved back at them. They both stood at the doorway, watching as the pair got into their car and drove away.

Sighing, Kouki went back into the house and dropped down loudly onto the couch. Seijuurou took his seat next to him and gently pulled the other into his arms, letting the brunette take warmth in his embrace.

"Is it silly to miss someone you've only met for a day?" Kouki mumbled, hiding his face in the other's shirt.

Seijuurou made a soothing noise, rubbing the omega's back. "If it is, then I must be silly too."

Kouki smiled as he sighed, pulling back slightly to give the other a kiss on the lips.

They kissed for a while before pulling away to catch their breaths. "Kouki, do you want a boy or a girl in the future?" Seijuurou suddenly asked.

Kouki flushed but answered, "I'm honestly fine with either. With a boy, we could relate to him more, being males ourselves, and it would be fun teaching him sports like basketball. And with a girl, I think it would be fun to dress her up in cute outfits and I'm totally fine playing tea parties with her- I could even teach her how to bake some green tea petit fours! And of course, we can also teach her basketball as well. In the end, what's really important to me is that our future child or children is both healthy and happy."

Seijuurou smiled as he leaned down to kiss Kouki once more. Pulling back he asked, "How many kids would you like?"

The brunette looked unsure as he replied, "Hmm...I'm not sure. At least one and then it depends on how painful the birthing process would be." Kouki paused as he recalled something. "Though Reo-nee does keep insisting during our fortune telling meetings that I would be destined to have four kids someday..."

The alpha's eyes sparkled at that. "I for one think that sounds lovely. I've always wanted a big family, especially if it's with you." Smiling gently at his omega for a moment, he soon began to grin devilishly. "Shall we start 'practicing' on reproducing, Kouki?"

"Sei!" Kouki swatted at the other's shoulder. He pouted for a bit, cheeks ablaze, before shyly saying, "...Well, we would have to go to my room and make sure that we're reeaalllllyyyy quiet so nii-san doesn't catch on..." Kouki let out a squeak as his mate immediately pulled him off the couch and guided him into the omega's bedroom.

For the rest of the night, they spent their time 'practicing' their baby-making skills, challenging themselves on staying quiet and loving each other during every single minute of it.


	15. Chapter 15

## An Order Of Green Tea Shakes

It all started with a basketball....

...and how he was hit right smack in the head with it.

"Ow." A fifth-grade boy with blue hair, rubbed his aching head as he frowned at the basketball that had just attacked him.

"Sorry! Oh my god, are you okay?!" The blunette looked up, still nursing his throbbing head, as another boy his age ran towards him.

The boy was a few inches taller than him, with chestnut brown hair and equally brown worried-looking eyes. In his hand held an ice cream cone but with no ice cream inside.

"Hey, are you okay?" The boy repeated, panicking even more when blue-haired boy didn't answer him the first time.

The blunette blinked slowly once before opening his mouth. "You can see me?" He questioned, tilting his head to the side to stare blankly at the taller boy.

This got the brunette to pause as he looked at the shorter boy in confusion. "Huh? Of course I can see you." The brunette blinked before his eyes got wider. "Eh? Don't tell me...you're a GHOST?!"

The blunette shook his head, "No. I'm alive but usually most people just ignore me."

The taller boy frowned at this, scrunching up his eyebrows. "Aw, that's not nice. Why do people ignore you?"

The blunette shrugged. "Because they don't really notice me most of the time. I'm usually invisible to them." Since he was used to this treatment, the blue-haired boy wasn't really concerned about it anymore. He was used to being on his own, to being alone.

That's why, it startled blunette when he noticed how upset the other looked at his words.

The brunette huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, those people are stupid then!"

The blue-haired boy stared at the other with wide eyes. Before he could say anything, the taller boy continued, "You know what? It doesn't matter if others can't see you. I can see you! As long as I notice you, then you shouldn't worry about anyone else, okay?" The brunette then gave him a wink and a thumbs up.

The blunette blinked, a bit speechless as he watched the other talk about how he would always notice his presence no matter what and how awesome he must be since he could had no trouble seeing someone who was supposed to be 'invisible'. After a moment, the blunette finally spoke up. "Why are you holding an empty ice cream cone?"

The brunette paused in his rant and looked at the blunette. "Hm? Oh! I got a death by chocolate flavored ice cream from that shop down the road. It's name is SO cool and it's super yummy! Do you want a lick-eh?" He gasped when he noticed that he was holding an ice cream cone but with no familiar dark brown ice cream in it.

Where was his death by chocolate ice cream?

"Eh?! Nooooooo! My ice cream! Where are you ice cream?!" The blue-haired boy watched, sweatdropping as the taller boy began to make a small scene as he searched the entire court, yelling for his missing 'death chocolate' (he shortened the name to make it easier to yell out).

After a few minutes of this, the blunette was about to tell the boy that there was no point in searching any farther for his missing ice cream since it had probably melted by now, but the brunette stopped yelling when he noticed something.

"Ne, is this your basketball?" The brunette looked at the blunette with curious, sparkling eyes.

The blunette averted his eyes from the excited boy, catching a glimpse of the other's basketball that was right next to the basketball he had brought with him.

"It's mine. But I'm not really good at playing." The blue-haired boy had just started learning basketball. Since he knew that he wasn't that good (really, his dribbling and shooting was downright terrible actually) he was too embarrassed to show the other his lack of basketball skills.

But the sparkle in the brunette's eyes didn't diminish one bit as he hurried up to the blunette and grinned at him- managing to temporarily blind the blunette by how bright the other's smile was.

"That's okay- I'll teach you then! Do you want to play basketball with me?"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"After your phone call, I'll be right there waiting for you." Kouki told his mate, pointing to the book store at their right.

Seijuurou smiled with his phone already at his ear and nodded as his mate, reaching over to give the brunette a sweet kiss on the lips before pulling away and replying to something someone on the other line had said.

Kouki gave the redhead's hand one last squeeze before letting go and making his way inside the store.

He and his bond mate we're currently on one of their shopping dates- the type of date where they would walk through a different mall or shopping district, though whereas Kouki would be window shopping, his alpha would try to convince his lover to buy whatever item that he thought the brunette should have.

So far, Seijuurou was the more successful of the two. Kouki still couldn't believe the other bought him 6000 yen bath salts and 8200 yen bubble bath- and the brunette was more of a shower person anyway!

As the omega browsed through the section of books marked 'New Arrivals', Kouki felt his stomach let out a growl. He blushed as he peeked around, relieved that no one was nearby to hear it.

Though it was still too early for lunch, Kouki had skipped his breakfast that day due to having woken up late and rushing to meet Seijuurou for their date. The brunette looked towards the cafe across the street and decided that after he bought his books, he would ask his boyfriend if they could have a little snack as well.

When Kouki's eye caught a certain title that he had actually been waiting for to be released, he excitedly went to grab it. Another hand also went to to grab for the same book, bumping into his own, making Kouki squeak as he quickly dropped his hand and backed away. When he looked to see who was the other person he bumped into, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Ah, hello Furihata-kun." Kuroko greeted, the book entitled, 'Kazoku Gemu' written by Yohei Honma held in his arms- together with the three other books that the blunette also had.

Kouki pouted at the beta. "Aw...I wanted to buy that book too! But I don't think they have anymore copies..."

Kuroko gave him a small smile as he looked through the books in his arms and held out another book to the other. "Here, please take this one then. I've heard it had a good story."

Kouki took the book and looked at the cover. "Platina Data?" After reading the summary, the omega nodded his head, looking very interested. "Okay, I'll take this. But make sure you let me borrow Kazoku Gemu, okay?"

The beta nodded his head in agreement. "Alright. But you must also lend me that book after you finish with it, please."

The two friends grinned at each other before they proceeded to chat with one another as they took out more books to buy.

Kouki added another two books in his arms, 'Narrataju' by Rio Shimamoto and 'Shinobi No Kuni' by Ryo Wada. Kuroko decided that the books in his arms were enough, though he made a promise to the omega to let the other borrow 'Yokoso Wagaya E' by Jun Ikeido after he was done reading it.

As the pair continued to chat about their basketball practice the day before (Kouki laughing at Kuroko's story of how Kagami accidentally walked into the girl's changing room by mistake) another person walked up, calling Kuroko's name.

"Hey, Kuroko! I found this really cool book that teaches kanji by using 'poo' in every sentence. The cover says it's a bestseller that has sold more than 1.83 million copies so far! Do you think I should get a copy for my little brothers?" A tall guy, alpha, stood beside Kuroko, smiling as he held up a children's book with an emoji-like turd character wearing glasses and a mustache.

Kuroko raised his eyebrow at the book as he commented, "So you think that by using fecal waste, that will help children learn kanji better?"

The tall guy grinned at him as he winked, "I'm not sure, but I do know that it'll at least keep some of their attention on it." The person then noticed Kouki who was standing in front of them. "Oh, who's this?"

Kuroko looked at Kouki too and began to introduce each other. "This is my teammate and friend, Furihata Kouki. Furihata-kun, this is my childhood friend, Ogiwara Shigehiro."

Kouki brightened in recognition and offered his hand up to the other as he smiled, "Oh! So you're Ogiwara-kun. It's nice to finally meet you- Kuroko has told our team so much about you."

"Kuroko has talked about me?" Ogiwara shot the blunette a surprised look as he shook Kouki's hand. Up close, Kouki could smell a buttery almond cookie scent coming from the alpha. "I hope it was all nice things?"

Kuroko looked at the alpha with a blank expression. "I told my team about the time you accidentally rode your mountain bike into the lake and how you're incapable of eating without making a huge mess."

Ogiwara blanched at his friend. "No way- you told them all of that?!"

Kouki laughed as Kuroko chuckled at the horror on the taller alpha's face. "Don't worry Ogiwara-kun, Kuroko told us only good things about you." He assured the other.

"Mostly good things, Furihata-kun." Kuroko corrected.

Ogiwara groaned but the alpha didn't look upset at all as he playfully shoved the blunette's shoulder lightly. "You're being really mean to me, Kuroko. This is revenge for drinking the rest of your vanilla milkshake the other day, isn't it?"

Kuroko blinked. "Ah, I completely forgot about that incident. Furihata-kun? Have I ever told you about the time Ogiwara-kun dressed up as a vampire for Halloween? For some reason, he got the words 'blood' and 'butt' mixed up so when he greeted people, he would say "I vant to suck your bu-"

"Ahh! Kuroko!" Ogiwara interrupted his friend, hurriedly clamping his hand over the blunette's mouth. "You know what? Two can play at that- one time when we went swimming, Kuroko started to get out of the pool to use the restroom but it was only when he was near the restrooms that he realized that his swimming trunks had accidentally come off and he was completely naked!"

Kuroko's face twisted to look actually embarrassed at this, blushing a deep red color as he shoved Ogiwara's hand off his mouth and reached to cover other's instead. "Ogiwara-kun!"

Kouki was giggling hard at this point, looking amused at the bickering duo before him. "Oh god, that's hilarious! But really, you guys are pretty close huh?" He observed the other two and noticed how in-sync they seemed to be with one another. "Hey, are you two dating by any chance?" He asked, wriggling his eyes teasingly at Kuroko, grinning.

The pair paused in their arguing and looked at the brunette with surprised eyes. "You are mistaken Furihata-kun. Ogiwara-kun and I are merely childhood friends." Kuroko explained. Kouki caught something strange that flashed in Kuroko's eyes for a second as the beta added, "Also, Ogiwara-kun has a girlfriend at the moment."

"Ah, actually we're no longer dating anymore. I'm single again." Ogiwara corrected, scratching his cheek sheepishly.

Kuroko's face showed a bit of the surprise at that. "Is that so? But you were talking so fondly about Tsukiyama-san the last time we talked with each other."

The alpha chuckled uneasily, looking uncomfortable. "Yeah, but I guess things just don't work out for some people in the end." Shaking his head, Ogiwara shot Kouki a bright grin, obviously deciding to change the subject. "Anyway, Furihata-kun. I've never met a male omega before- how does it feel like?" He asked, looking curious.

"Ogiwara-kun." Kuroko chided the other, giving a light slap on his friend's arm.

Ogiwara looked at the blunette for a moment but wincing, realizing how rude he was coming off. "Ah, I didn't mean anything bad or anything! I'm sorry-"

"No, it's okay." Kouki interrupted him, giving the other an understanding smile. "I'm used to it already and it doesn't really bother me anymore." And it did happen often- ever since he had bonded with Seijuurou and stopped taking his suppressants, his true secondary gender was finally out in the open.

His first week out, Kouki was constantly bombarded by everyone with questions about his secondary gender and most often, who his bond mate was. The omega would stutter when he answered the first question, but he kept his mouth shut about who his mate was- he was keen on his privacy and didn't like random classmates to know about his personal life.

The constant attention and speculating eyes was hell for the brunette's anxiety and he developed a sort of paranoia from it. Kouki didn't know what he would have done if he didn't have his fellow teammates and friends around to help him with the chaos at that time.

Majority of the people were pretty okay about Kouki being a rare male omega. Many times, people gushed how cute he was or how good he smelled or mostly how awesome it was that they could tell their friends and family that they actually knew a male omega (male omegas were REALLY rare, after all).

But of course, there were those people who had made snide comments about the brunette's secondary gender- saying things like how Kouki just needed to spread his omega pheromones around to give him free passes in life or that they thought male omegas were supposed to look insanely beautiful so how could plain-looking Furihata Kouki possibly be an omega?

And then there were those who would give him leering looks and tell him how they would love to grab him from behind and....well, thankfully Kouki didn't received comments like those often. The first time someone made a comment like that to him, the omega had been hanging together with his mate and the uncrowned kings.

To this day, Kouki still didn't really know what happened to that guy. But he did remember talking with Mibuchi while the other three had excused themselves to the restroom and when they had returned after quite a while, he noted the strange dark but satisfied smirks that Seijuurou had exchanged with both Nebuya and Hayama.

Even now, there would sometimes be the random bystander who would walk up to him and ask him about being a male omega- but thankfully, Kouki had learned how to handle situations and most of the time, there would usually be someone with him who could help him out.

"When people ask me how being a male omega is...I just tell them the truth- it's just feels like normal, I guess? I mean, I've been nothing but an omega my entire life so I don't really know how to differentiate it from being an alpha or a beta? I mean, I do experience heats and other stuff, but it's kinda not really a big deal to me and I can take care of it? Sorry if this answer wasn't what you wanted." Kouki apologized.

"No, no, no!" Ogiwara shook his head vehemently. "That's was totally fine. I've asked Kuroko before about how it felt to be a beta and he pretty much answered the same thing."

Kouki smiled, relieved. "I'm glad then."

"I hope what I say won't offend you, but I think it's so cool that you're a male omega! I mean, when I first noticed you, I could automatically tell that your scent was slightly sweeter than most, even from the other female omegas." The alpha's eyes was practically brimming with excitement as he said this. "And there's like a thing about you- it's subtle but the way you stand or move around is kinda....like you move in the same graceful way like other female omegas that I've seen move. It's so fascinating!"

Kuroko eyed his friend with a raised eyebrow. "You are making Furihata-kun sound like a alien experiment, Ogiwara-kun."

The alpha choked, his face looking horrified as he quickly shook his head and brought his hands up in apology. "Oh, God. No, no, I totally didn't mean to make you out as some sort of unknown specimen or something....I just think that you're pretty cool, Furihata-kun."

The brunette had been blushing a bright red at being (complimented?) by the other. "Ah, it's fine. And I'm nothing like what you just said at all- I'm just plain." He waved the other off. Looking at the pair before him more closely, Kouki pointed out, "But what's interesting to me is how different you two are from each other. I mean, Kuroko is so quiet and stoic while you are more outgoing and loud- ah, but I don't think it's bad or anything! I just wondered how you two became as close as you are."

Ogiwara grinned at him before turning to Kuroko with a fond sparkle in his eyes. "I guess we're just meant to be, huh Kuroko?" He wriggled his eyebrows, nudging the other with elbow.

The blunette rolled his eyes, but the smile playing on his lips didn't fool anyone. "The saying I believe is 'Opposites attract', Ogiwara-kun." He agreed.

Kouki sighed with a small smile, a certain redhead flashing in his mind. "Yeah, opposites really do attract after all."

Ogiwara picked up the brunette's words and tone and shot Kouki a curious look. "Are you and your mate opposites as well, Furihata-kun?" He asked, shooting a glance at the other's neck where the omega's bond mark was showing proudly.

Kouki nodded, focusing his attention back on the alpha. "Yeah. We are." Even though it was only fifteen minutes at most, the brunette was starting to miss his boyfriend and wondered if the other's phone call was done yet.

Ogiwara hummed. "Hm, even though you smell like marshmallows, I can definitely pick up a hint of cinnamon on you that no doubt has to be from your bond mate, right? But I can't help but wonder why that cinnamon scent smells so familiar to me..." He trailed off, not noticing how Kuroko froze at his side. The blunette's expression didn't change, but Kouki could tell that the beta was tense.

Before the brunette could ask what was wrong, he felt an arm wound around his waist, pulling him close to another body behind him.

"Sei!" Kouki cried in surprise. He could recognize his bond mate anywhere and he smiled up at his alpha in happiness.

"I apologize for making you wait for so long, love. My phone call lasted longer than I had anticipated." Seijuurou gave him a short peck on the lips before looking down at the items in the brunette's arms. "Did you find everything you were looking for, Kouki?"

Kouki smiled as he nodded his head. He was about to tell the other about the books he found before he remembered that they still had company.

Turning to the other pair before them, he waved a hand towards them. "Ah, Sei. I managed to run into Kuroko here as well. And here's he with his friend, Ogiwara-kun." Smiling brightly as the duo, he gestured towards his mate. "And this is my bond mate, Aka-"

"Akashi Seijuurou?" Ogiwara interrupted, looking at the redheaded alpha with wide eyes. Kouki tilted his head, looking surprised as well while Kuroko stayed silent, eyes moving back and forth between the two alphas.

Seijuurou blinked as he recognized the brown-haired alpha before him. "It's been a while. Hello, Ogiwara Shigehiro-san, yes?"

Ogiwara stared at the other in shock for a few more seconds (Kouki was starting to worry for the other's jaw since it had dropped wide open for a while now) before he clamped his mouth shut and gave Seijuurou a smile. "Yes! I'm so surprised that you remembered me!"

Putting his hand out, Ogiwara gave the other a wide, friendly grin. "It has been a while, Akashi-kun. I can call you by '-kun' right? By the way, you can also call me using '-kun' too!" He greeted cheerfully.

Seijuurou hesitantly took the exuberant alpha's offered hand in his own but had a small smile on his lips as he greeted the other in return. "Please feel free to address me anyway that makes you comfortable, Ogiwara-kun."

Kuroko continued to stay quiet as the two shook hands, just observing both the alphas closely.

Kouki was confused by the awkward silence that followed, no one really knowing what to say or do next.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for Kouki) his stomach chose that moment to make a loud growl, making the cheeks blush a bright pink.

The tension lightened after that as Seijuurou chuckled, bringing the other close to him once more and giving one of the omega's pink cheeks a kiss. "Shall we take a break and get something to eat, love?" He asked gently.

Kouki sheepishly nodded his head. "Okay." Looking at the other two, he asked, "would you two like to come with us to get something to eat?" Seijuurou also looked up and nodded his head in agreement to the pair.

Kuroko looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "It's still a bit early for lunch, but I could do with a snack."

Ogiwara nodded his head. "Me too- ah! There's a cafe nearby so let's eat there!" He suggested.

Everyone agreed to that plan and as soon as they purchased their books, the small group went across the street into the cafe.

The Kulu Hulu Cafe was a simple cafe that had a very clean look to it. Unlike most Japanese cafes where they had a certain theme or gimmick to them, this cafe was arranged to look like someone's house, giving it a very relaxed atmosphere to its customers with its soothing colors, landscape artwork on the walls and it's relaxing tables, chairs and a few couches as well.

Going up to make their orders, Kouki looked in surprise at the familiar face that greeted them at the counter.

"Welcome. What do you guys want to order?" The bored-looking employee asked, getting ready to take their orders.

"It's quite a surprise to see you here, Mayuzumi-kun." Kuroko greeted, though expectedly he himself didn't look surprise at all.

Neither did Seijuurou as he merely smiled and gave the other a polite nod. "It's good to see you again, senpai."

Mayuzumi rolled his eyes at that, sighing in exasperation. "For the last time, stop calling me that- I'm no longer your senpai as soon as I graduated." Mayuzumi observed the group before him before stopping his eyes at Kouki. "Ah, I'm assuming you're the male omega, huh."

Kouki stood up straight as he gave the other a bow. "Yes! My name is Furihata Kouki. It's nice to meet you, Mayuzumi-san." Kouki remembered the now-graduated Rakuzan third year phantom player and how the Kuroko 2.0 had played against them in the winter cup.

"Call me Mayuzumi-kun. I hate being addressed with '-san'. And the same goes with senpai." He directed the last part towards Seijuurou, who merely smiled innocently back at him as if they already had this argument many times before. Based on the way they acted, Kouki could tell that the two got along well- kinda a bit similar to how he himself got along with Shougo.

"Okay Mayuzumi-kun." Kouki nodded, giving him a shy smile.

Mayuzumi stared at him for a few seconds longer with a strange look in his eyes before looking indifferent once more and asking again what they wanted to order.

"Hmm....there's the Mexican hot chocolate, the chocolate chai, the rocky road malt...ooh, they have a fizzy mint-chocolate soda. Wonder how that tastes like- cake! They have CAKE! Now where's the chocolate one..." Ogiwara's attention had been on the menu ever since they had arrived and had been distracted to their entire conversation.

Kuroko chuckled as he explained to them, "Ogiwara-kun loves chocolate as much as I love vanilla."

Kouki giggled at that. "Wow. You two are really opposites- it's like you complete each other."

The small group took a while to choose their orders (though Seijuurou merely ordered his usual double shot espresso with a mini soufflé cheesecake) before Mayuzumi suggested the other three to try their special for the day.

"It's a Vanilla Almond Matcha and Chocolate Lava Shake. It has the chocolate you want-" he pointed to Ogiwara, "-the vanilla you want-" he now pointed to Kuroko, "-and Akashi told me how much you like green tea stuff." He looked directly at Kouki.

The three smiled and agreed on the recommendation. In addition, Ogiwara ordered the white chocolate tiramisu, Kuroko got the vanilla cream puff and Kouki pointed to the slice of strawberry shortcake.

The group finally took their seats and chatted amongst themselves about school and other things, pausing when their orders finally arrived.

"Mmm.......this. Is. So. AWESOME!" Ogiwara moaned in delight, spooning another bite of tiramisu in his mouth.

"Ogiwara-kun, you're quite loud." But Kuroko chuckled as he took a bite of his cream puff, his eyes sparkling at the vanilla taste.

"The shakes are yummy too!" Kouki gushed, sipping at his green and brown milkshake happily. The green tea shake itself didn't look very appetizing at first (it was a murky moss green color with a brown mess on the bottom- it reminded Kouki of a swamp- but the taste was out of this world. The almond extract just pulled all the other flavors together).

"Here, Kouki. Would you like to try some?" Seijuurou smiled as he offered his fork with a bite of the soufflé cheesecake he ordered.

The omega's eyes sparkled as he nodded his head and opened his mouth, taking in the offered bite. "Mmm~! It's so delicious!" He moaned.

"I like the lightness and the slight salty tinge it has, despite being a dessert." Akashi smiled at the other, reaching up to wipe off a bit of cream that got on the other's lips.

"Here, try my cake!" Kouki urged as he held up his spoon of white cake, cream and a big strawberry on it, Seijuurou smiled as he obdiently took in the cake, humming at the taste.

"Mm, it's delicious. The strawberries are fresh and goes well with the sweetness of the sponge." The redhead told him, smiling when the omega brought his shake up to let him taste it next.

"Wow...you guys are so lovey-dovey." The couple turned their heads to look at Ogiwara, seeing the alpha stare at them with wide, stunned eyes. "Is this like a bond mate thing or is it just normal for you two to act like....um...." He scratched his cheek, trying to find the right words.

Kuroko finished it sentence for him. "They act like their in their own little bubble and the rest of the world has disappeared around them?" The blunette offered.

The brown-haired alpha's eyes lit up as he pounded his fist on the table. "Yeah, like that! Like you're not even aware that the rest of us can see you guys acting so in love!"

Kouki was blushing very red at that, spluttering incoherently as Seijuurou gave a cough, a slight red to his own cheeks showing how uncomfortable he felt by the observations.

Seeing the couple's reactions, Ogiwara backtracked and quickly said, "Ah, it not a bad thing or anything! I mean, I'm so jealous of you two that you have someone to act so lovey with. I wish I had that." He sighed mournfully.

"I'm sure you'll find someone else out there who'll love you." Kuroko assured his friend, taking a sip of his own shake.

Ogiwara pouted before letting out a huge sigh. "Yeah, I guess. But man....I was surprised to see YOU acting like this, Akashi-kun. I mean, you always came off as someone so intimidating and really scary back then. I mean, I still remember our first meeting...ah." Ogiwara winced as he noticed both Seijuurou and Kuroko flinched at that.

Kouki looked at everyone's faces and suddenly remembered what Kuroko had told their team about what exactly happened in Teiko.

Apparently, Seijuurou had been...very unkind during his first meeting with Kuroko's childhood friend. And it was no secret about what had happened during the infamous match between the Teiko and Meiko middle schools- the consequences that had followed by Ogiwara quitting basketball and Kuroko also quitting his team and deciding to take a stand to teach his former teammates what true basketball was.

Kouki wondered if this was the first time where all three of them had been together again after all the drama that had conspired in middle school? If so, he now understood the awkward air that was surrounding the table now.

Before Kouki could say anything to break the sudden tension, Ogiwara let out a loud shout- attracting attention from everyone in the cafe- while he placed his hands on the table in front of them and bowed his head deeply.

"I'm sorry! I swore to myself that I wouldn't bring up the past again and of course, what did I do? I brought up the past! I'm so super sorry, Akashi-kun. And you too, Kuroko. And I should probably apologize to you too, Furihata-kun!" Ogiwara bowed again in remorse.

"Huh, me too?!" Kouki jumped in his seat in surprise when he was mentioned.

"Well, it can't be helped. It was hard not to bring up the pink elephant in the room." Kuroko sighed, putting his empty glass down and absently poked at the other half of his cream puff.

Seijuurou stayed quiet, staring at the other alpha. No one else may have noticed, but Kouki knew his mate and could see the remorse in the redhead's eyes.

"Ogiwara-kun, please lift your head." Seijuurou told him gently.

Ogiwara did just that and looked at the other with wide eyes. "Eh?"

Seijuurou gave the other a sad smile as he told the other. "Trust me when I tell you that you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. In fact, it should be me who should be begging for your forgiveness." Moving his chair back, Seijuurou looked at Ogiwara, making sure he had the alpha's full attention. "What I have done to you and your team back then, I'm truly very sorry for fixing the game and treating you all in a completely unfair and unacceptable manner. And my words to you that night...I take them all back. All that I told you....I was downright wrong and arrogant and I truly apologize for my behavior, Ogiwara-kun." Seijuurou gave the other a deep bow, the other three staring at the redhead with wide eyes.

"Sei..." Kouki whispered, his heart going out to his mate as he reached up to hold the other's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. He knew how hard it was for his alpha to apologize and admit that he was wrong...and if that wasn't enough, he also bowed down to another alpha while doing so. The brunette smiled- the Akashi Seijuurou today was definitely a better man now than he was over a year ago.

Seijuurou gave his hand a squeeze in return, his eyes focused on Ogiwara as they all waited for the brown-haired alpha's reply.

For the first time, Ogiwara's face was expressionless as he looked at Akashi carefully. Finally after a few excruciating minutes, Ogiwara released a loud sigh before giving Akashi a deep frown.

"I'm sorry Akashi-san. But I don't accept your apology." Ogiwara told him.

Everyone gasped at that, and Kouki winced as his mate unconsciously tightened his hold on his own hand, almost painfully.

Even Kuroko looked at his friend dumbfounded as he questioned, "Ogiwara-kun. What are you saying? This isn't like you at all." The beta knew that even though his friend was a bit hyper and immature at times, the alpha was not the type to hold a grudge against anyone.

But Ogiwara merely ignored the question and shook his head, his eyes still on the frozen redhead in front of him.

"What you guys did to me and my team back then....we were so excited and had really looked forward to playing you guys, you know. And for what? To find out that your team was just playing us for idiots the entire time? The points we thought we earned were only pity baskets you guys gave us so that the score would be 11 against 111. And to make matters worst, when I saw how miserable Kuroko looked while playing a sport we both loved so much....it hurt even more. It hurt SO MUCH. It was the worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life. Because not only did I lose my love for basketball that day, but I knew that I lost my best friend as well." Ogiwara paused as he took a shaky breath, blinking away the tears that threatened to come out. Kouki also felt his eyes watering and saw the Kuroko looked miserable as well.

As for Seijuurou....his hand felt as cold as ice in his hand. The omega didn't even think his mate breathing at that point.

Ogiwara composed himself as he continued. "It's not easy, for me just to forgive you just because you say sorry. Words don't really mean much to me at this point- they don't make up for the trauma and the nightmares I sometimes still have from that game. I'm sorry, Akashi-kun. I can truly see how sorry you are and I believe how much you regret your actions from that day too but...a simple apology with a bow isn't enough for me. I'm sorry, but I don't accept your apology."

The air around their table was stifling. Kuroko stared at Ogiwara with unreadable eyes. Seijuurou sat back in his seat, looking as if he was in a trance, eyes now on the table. Kouki, worried for his mate, scooting his chair closer and wrapped his arms around the other's waist, bringing out some of his omega pheromones in order to help comfort the other.

And Ogiwara also had an unreadable look on his face, as he observed Seijuurou in a critical manner.

Not sure about how much time passed as everyone at their table didn't speak, the silence was suddenly broken when Ogiwara banged his fist on the table, making the other three jump in fright as they looked at him.

"I want a game." Ogiwara said with a fierce expression on his face this time.

Kouki was the one to reply, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked at the other in confusion. "What? What game?" Kuroko, on the other hand, looked at his friend with wide eyes, finally understanding what the alpha was after.

Ogiwara kept his gaze on Seijuurou (who looked just as confused as Kouki) and gave the other a look of determination, fire blazing in his eyes. "I don't except your apology. Your words are nice but they don't really change what had already happened. Instead, I want to play a game of basketball against you. I know a street court near here- we can play there! If you agree to it, then I MIGHT forgive you for what happened in the past. But I want everything to be fair this time around and you need to play me with all you got. No more fixing the score, okay?" He finally gave Seijuurou a wide grin, looking friendly once more.

Seijuurou blinked as he studied Ogiwara's expression carefully. Finally, the redhead gave a small, uncertain smile at the other, a bit of hesitance on his face as he told the other, "Alright. I'll play a game against you. Fair and square, this time." He promised, agreeing.

Ogiwara's face lit up in happiness as he whooped his fist in the air. Both Kuroko and Kouki took a breath of relief, the tension at their table finally broken.

"But, I don't want to play one-on-one. We should have teams- even just three players each. It'll be more fun that way!" Ogiwara insisted.

Seijuurou nodded as he asked, "That's alright with me, but do you know where we can get two more players?"

Ogiwara pursed his lips as he looked thoughtful. "Hmm...well, I guess we can just grab two people at the street court and ask if they want to join. Also, we'll have to borrow their basketball since none of us have one on us."

"More players, hm?" Akashi looked at something at the corner of his eyes before a small grin graced his lips. "I know one player that's available right now- so we'll just need to find one more when we're at the courts."

The redhead got up and the rest of them watched as the alpha walked up to a certain silver-haired beta standing behind the cashier, his bored expression still the same as he looked though the pages of the light novel he was reading. "No." The beta said, not even looking up.

Seijuurou didn't looked deterred as he stopped in front of the other, giving the other a bright smile. "But senpai, I haven't asked you anything that would require an answer from you yet." He pointed out.

Mayuzumi snorted as he kept his eyes on his novel. "Yes, YET. Okay one, stop calling me senpai. And two, your table is not as quiet as you may think you all are and I had the unfortunate position of this cashier being only a few feet away from you guys, hence meaning that I was forced to listen to every word that was said- despite my great endeavor in trying to ignore you all." Mayuzumi gave a great sigh as he turned his page and continued reading. "Because of this, I know that you were planning on asking me to join your game. So my answer to that is NO."

Seijuurou on the contrary didn't look upset at this, in fact, he looked as if he expected this answer. "But senpai, we need two more people to play with us."

"And I'm sure you'll find those two people...somewhere that's not here in this cafe, at this cashier." Mayuzumi told him, his tone sounding mockingly polite now.

"But why play with a stranger when we have one perfectly good basketball player here who I would give high recommendation to about his fantastic skills?" Seijuurou pointed out sweetly.

Mayuzumi finally looked away from his a magazine to give Akashi a deadpanned look. "If you're trying to sweet-talk me, you're doing a horribly embarrassing job of it. And speaking of job, I'm in the middle of one right now. So no. Go away, Akashi. I'm not playing basketball with you guys because after I graduated, I realized that I really hated basketball and since you're no longer my captain, I don't have to follow your orders which yes, I want you to know that your way of asking me is just another way of you ordering me to do something but in a discreet and underhanded way. Now leave me to enjoy my book. Please." His last word sounded only sarcastic as he went back to his reading.

Things were quiet between the two for a full ten seconds before Seijuurou said with the same smile on his face. "So, should I pay your manager in order for you to have an hour break like I did last time I was here or should I just tell her to give you the entire day off and pay extra to cover the expenses that may be missed by your absence?"

Mayuzumi thought about for a moment. "Tell her I'm taking the day off. There's a new book out and I remembered that there's a bookstore that sells that particular series about five minutes from the courtyard."

Seijuurou grinned as he swiftly slipped under the separator with practiced ease, as if he had done it before, and headed towards the direction where manager's office must be.

Mayuzumi looked towards their table and focused on Kouki specifically. "Your bond mate likes to come here every two weeks for a cup of coffee and a chance to annoy me." The silver-haired beta rolled his eyes in exasperation. "To think that I thought graduating Rakuzan would finally make me free from Akashi Seijuurou's constant pestering and need for advice. Haaaah....what a fool I was."

Kouki looked at him thoughtfully as he commented, "Hmm...you're relationship with Sei is almost exactly the same as mine with Shougo!"

Kuroko looked at the omega with a curious expression. "I don't recall you ever mentioning a Shougo before, Furihata-kun. Is he a friend of yours?"

Kouki nodded as he replied, "Yeah. He's my close friend from middle school. His full name's Haizaki Shougo."

The blunette's eyes widened quite considerably at that. "You are friends with Haizaki-kun, Furihata-kun?" His voice lit up in curiosity.

Kouki winced as he forgot that Kuroko had actually gone to the same middle school as Haizaki. Oh well, he'll apologize to his omega friend later the next time they video chatted. "Yeah, we're like best friends."

Kuroko didn't say anything, but by the look he was giving him, Kouki knew that he would have a lot to answer to during their next library committee.

When Seijuurou came back with an okay from the cafe's manager about letting Mayuzumi take the rest of the day off, the group paid for their meal and left.

The small group of five made their way to the courts, examining the area for an available court for them to play at.

To their surprise, they recognized two familiar people playing an one-on-one match on the farthest court to their left.

"That's my win, Aho!"

"Whatever. That's just your one win to my two, Baka!"

"Eh? Kagami and Aomine? What are you guys doing here?" Kouki blinked in surprise as the two aces paused in their game and looked at the approaching group with surprise as well.

"Furi! And Akashi? Ah, are you two on a date or something?" Kagami asked, grinning at them before noticing the others. "Ah, aren't you that phantom player from Akashi's team? Like Kuroko's clone, right? And aren't you Kuroko's friend, Ogi-something?"

"That's rude, Kagami-kun. You shouldn't call people like that." Kuroko scolded him, having moved so he stood right beside the tall redhead.

Kagami let out a noise close to something a frightened girl would let out (making Aomine laugh his ass off) and clutched his chest as he looked at Kuroko with wide eyes. "Dammit, Kuroko! Don't scare me like that! And what the hell, you were here the whole time too?!"

Kuroko rolled his eyes as he looked at Kagami, unamused. "Yes. Now, we're here to play a game- specifically between Akashi-kun and Ogiwara-kun, my childhood friend whom I've told you about before. If you and Aomine-kun wouldn't mind, would one of you like to join us in playing?" He asked them.

"Ah. Let them both play. I'll just take my leave now." Mayuzumi offered as he tried to go, but Seijuurou blocked his path.

"We still need a referee, senpai." He pointed out politely to the other. The beta sighed loudly but agreed to referee their game.

"Okay, so the team captains are Akashi-kun and Ogiwara-kun. Heads or tails to choose who'll pick their team's first.

"Heads." Ogiwara called out. Kuroko flipped the coin and everyone looked down to see what it was.

"Tails. Akashi-kun will choose first." Kuroko announced.

"Actually, I would like Ogiwara-kun to have first choice, if you don't mind. I'm curious to see who your first pick will be." Seijuurou admitted.

Ogiwara agreed as he looked upon the others to make his first pick. "I choose...Furihata-kun!" Ogiwara yelled out happily. Kouki looked surprised but joined Ogiwara's team, smiling apologetically at his surprised and disappointed bond mate. Obviously, the redhead had thought Ogiwara would have chosen Kuroko first.

Seijuurou had soon chosen the blunette for own his team (still upset that his mate wasn't on his team) while Ogiwara chose Kagami next, leaving Aomine to go to Seijuurou's.

As each team got ready for the tip-off, Mayuzumi explained the rules. "Each basket is considered a point. The game ends as soon as one team has a total fifteen points. Okay, let's start already."

As the game commenced, since Seijuurou's team had a history of playing together whereas it was Kouki and Kagami's first time playing with Ogiwara, the Teiko team quickly grabbed the first three points.

But eventually, Ogiwara's team found their rhythm with each other and was finally able to score a point with a surprise alley-oop play between Kouki and Ogiwara.

The next points were slowly scored as each team refused to let the other team score. Ogiwara cheered when he managed to dodge Akashi's ankle break and score the ninth point for his team.

Lastly, at the final point, it was Kuroko versus Ogiwara as the alpha blocked the beta's way, preventing access for the other to make a basket. But in the end, the victory went towards Seijuurou's team when Kuroko used his phantom shot to go through Ogiwara's defense, making the game-winning basket.

Seijuurou's team cheered as they high fived one another as Ogiwara's team groaned with their loss but still smiled as they patted each other on the back and congratulated everyone for a great game.

As the others sat on the courts and chatted about their game as Kuroko and Kouki tried to get Kagami and Aomine to stop fighting once again, Ogiwara walked to where Akashi was and they both stood side by side as they observed the others.

"I forgive you." Ogiwara suddenly said, still looking ahead. Seijuurou jumped, turning his head to the other. "I didn't really have a grudge against you or anyone on your team, not really. Well, I did at first, but after the first few days passed, I realized that what was done, was done and that I should just let it go." Ogiwara chuckled. "I really do forgive you, Akashi-kun. So please don't think that you owe me anything- we're all good now, I promise."

Seijuurou was stunned at the other's words, looking at the fellow alpha with questioning eyes. "May I ask why? Why you chose to give your forgiveness to me now?"

Ogiwara turned and the redhead was surprised to see a few unshed tears in the other's eyes as he smiled widely. "Because you gave me the chance to finally play the game I had always wanted. Ever since I was in elementary school, I have always wanted to play in a real basketball match against Kuroko. But I had never had a chance to, until now. And it's thanks to you."

Seijuurou shook his head at that. "But I didn't do very much, Ogiwara-kun. And how can you be so happy when your team didn't even win in the end?" He questioned, eyebrows furrowed, not understanding.

Ogiwara grinned as he looked back at the others. Mayuzumi had made his escape as soon as the match was over. Kagami and Aomine had started playing another basketball match and Kuroko and Kouki sat together on the side, chatting about something though Ogiwara heard the name 'Shougo' mentioned.

"Did you know why I chose your bond mate first for my team?" Looking at Akashi's questioning gaze, Ogiwara answered, "Because I could tell from our time at the cafe and even back at the bookstore that it was obvious how much you loved him. I knew that you would never play anything less than what you were capable of if Furihata-kun was on the opposing team because I knew that you would never disrespect him in that way. I know that you said you would play a fair game against me, but I just wanted to be sure.

And then I made sure to choose Kagami-kun for my team because I had no intention on choosing Kuroko at all. I wanted to play against him and more specifically, I wanted a game against Teiko. A true game this time. So I was happy when Kuroko and Aomine-kun was on your team. It didn't need to be official, but as long as everyone in the game tried their hardest, then that's all that mattered to me."

Ogiwara looked back at Seijuurou with a gentle smile on his face. "Do you remember what I asked you back then, just before our game together?"

Seijuurou winced as he did recall their conversation and the cruel answer he gave. He knew that the brunette didn't really need his answer and instead gave a nod in response.

Ogiwara nodded as well. "Yes. I had asked you if you felt happy when you played basketball. When you basically admitted to me that winning was the only thing that mattered to you, it honestly made me feel very sad for you and actually...You were very pitiful to me back then, even after we had lost because you could only think that way. To only play to win, and nothing more."

The brunette's words hit the redhead hard, making Seijuurou feel awful about everything his old self did and said. And he couldn't deny anything because he too felt pitiful for himself when he thought about how he was before. Of everything he thought he had but not knowing that something much better was out there waiting for him, something worth all the wins and perfection and loneliness his other self had drowned in.

"Um...is everything okay here?" Both alphas looked up in surprise when they saw Kouki walking towards them, smiling hesitantly as his wide eyes shifted back and forth worriedly between the two of them.

Knowing that his omega must have felt his troubled feelings and had come to help him, Seijuurou gave him a wide smile as he held his arm out to the other.

Kouki lit up as he hurriedly grabbed his hand and let his mate pull him into his arms. He held his face up as the other leaned down to give him a sweet and gentle kiss.

Ogiwara watched them with a bright blush at their PDA, although he was not bothered at all by their display. No matter what differences or conflicts he had with the redhead in the past, he was truly happy for the kind of person Seijuurou was now.

"Hey Akashi-kun." The redhead looked up when Ogiwara called out to him. "Since I finally gave you my forgiveness and all, can I ask you one last thing?"

Seijuurou looked at him questioningly before nodding his head. "Yes, of course. What would you like to know, Ogiwara-kun?" Kouki also looked curious as well.

Ogiwara grinned as he asked the fellow alpha, "Did you feel happy when you played basketball, today? And not just because you won?" He added the last part teasingly.

Seijuurou blinked before giving the other a soft smile of his own before looking down at the omega in his arms, his omega, and answered in a voice full of tenderness, joy and plenty of love, "I had the most fun playing basketball today than I had in a long time. As long as I have my friends and my Kouki here by my side to enjoy the sport we all love, then that means more to me than whether I win or lose. But no, Ogiwara-kun. I didn't feel happy as I played basketball today." Akashi paused before giving the other alpha a bright smile, brighter than any smile he had given that day.

"Playing basketball here with all of you....I am filled with overwhelming exuberance.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"You cheated with that last basket, Ahomine!" Kagami accused the other.

Aomine merely snorted. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Anyway, I'm starving. Who wants to go to Maji Burger?"

"Sorry Daiki, but Kouki and I already have plans for lunch. We'll have to decline your offer this time." Seijuurou informed him, apologetically.

"Yeah, sorry Aomine-kun. Maybe next time." Kouki told him, smiling regretfully.

"I'm up for it- I could go for a good burger right about now." Kagami admitted, his stomach giving out a loud growl.

"Ogiwara-kun, shall we join them as well?" Kuroko asked, looking questionably at his friend.

"Ah, um, actually I kinda wanted to talk to you first. Like, alone? Is that okay, Kuroko?" Ogiwara asked, looking at the blunette almost pleadingly.

Kuroko tilted his head, looking curious but nodded his head, "That's fine." Looking at his past and present lights, the beta told them, "I guess we'll have to reject your offer as well. I apologize, Aomine-kun."

Aomine groaned at that. "Ugh, why is it that I'm always stuck with Bakagami here? Even when I came here to play by myself, I had to run into this idiot." He scowled.

Kagami scoffed. "I should be the one irritated with having to see your damn face everywhere. Tae cancelled our date today since she had to attend her cousin's funeral so I came here to shoot some hoops. Besides, I was the one here first- you were the one who barged in uninvited."

"Hah. So you're here alone because your girlfriend cancelled on you. How lame." Aomine snorted.

"I already said that she had to go to a funeral. It's not like I could have asked to crash that, asshole! And what about you? At least I had the guts to confess to my girlfriend- aren't you still pinning after that teammate of yours whose hair looks like a brown mushroom?" Kagami shouted.

"Oi! Who the hell said I'm pining after anyone? And don't call Ryou a mushroom, you bastard!" Aomine yelled.

"Oh, so it's 'Ryou', is it?" Kagami snapped back. The duo began to walk away, continuing their argument as they left.

Kuroko and Seijuurou exchanged exasperated looks. Those two will never change.

"Huh. So Aomine likes Sakurai-kun? I always thought his type was someone with big..." Kouki left the rest of his sentence hanging, as he gestured towards his chest, making two large mounds. "Someone like Alex-san, maybe?" He offered, recalling Kagami's old coach and somewhat mother-figure.

Kuroko shrugged. "That Aomine-kun's type regarding his porn materials. But when it comes to dating, I'm pretty sure he is more open-minded to other choices."

"Kouki, we should be heading off now. It'll take us at least half an hour to get there." Seijuurou told his mate gently.

Kouki nodded as he smiled at the other two. "Well, I guess we'll be on our way."

Kuroko smiled as he nodded at them. "Take care. It was fun playing together with everyone once again. And Furihata-kun, we will continue our conversation back at school."

Kouki flinched at the look the other gave him. "Yeah, okay. But you have to promise that you'll tell me everything that will happen during your...'conversation' with Ogiwara here." He said, wiggling his eyebrows at them. Kuroko looked confused while Ogiwara blushed when Kouki looked at him.

Actually, the omega had a feeling about the both of them while they were back at the bookstore. His suspicions rose after he saw them interact together and began to piece together everything that Kuroko had ever hinted in the past about his 'crush'.

But now, Kouki felt confident that his guess about the two might actually be correct.

Grinning widely, Kouki waved goodbye to the pairing, pulling along his also-confused bond mate behind him. The omega was looking forward to hearing from Kuroko during their library committee tomorrow.

Kuroko continued to look at the retreating couple in confusion before looking away and facing Ogiwara when the other gave a loud cough to grab his attention.

"Yes, Ogiwara-kun? What did you want to tell me?" Kuroko asked politely.

Ogiwara didn't look at him, rocking side to side as he rethought his decision one more time whether to say it or not. Taking a deep breath, the alpha looked up and faced Kuroko with an unusually serious expression.

"I like you, Kuroko." Ogiwara decided to bite the bullet and ended up talking in such a rushed matter that Kuroko almost never caught the words.

"I like you too, Ogiwara-kun." Kuroko replied immediately, a bit confused as to why the alpha looked so nervous now.

Ogiwara let out a groan as he shook his head. "No, I mean, I like you Kuroko. Like LIKE you."

"Um, I'm sorry but I'm not quite sure what you mean by that." Kuroko furrowed his eyebrows, looking truly puzzled by what the other was trying to say.

Ogiwara looked almost as if he was gonna give up and just forget everything, but he took in another deep breath and gave his childhood best friend a determined look.

With wide eyes, Kuroko watched as Ogiwara gently took one of his hands and carefully placed it on his chest. The blunette gasped when he felt how fast the other's heart was beating. It felt like it was going at 100/mph. "I like you, Kuroko." He said this time, the words simple and clear.

"Ogiwara-kun..." Kuroko whispered, finally having a clue on where the alpha was going at.

Ogiwara gave him a shy smile before he told the other in an uncharacteristic soft voice, "I really like you. In THIS type of way. In the way that makes me want to either puke or roll over and die, and both things are totally not romantic at all. Okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop talking now." The alpha bit his lip, red with embarassment.

But Kuroko continued to stare at the other, not truly believing what was going on. "You like me like....but when? Why?"

Ogiwara gave Kuroko a small chuckle. "When did I start to like you? I'm not really sure to be honest- it could have been when we were still kids. But I only became aware of it when my last girlfriend broke up with me." The alpha sighed as he recalled his ex's last words to him.

"She told me one time when we were on a date that she had felt as if there was someone else that was on my mind other than her. I told her that she was wrong and that I had been remembering that joke you had told me before. Then she gave me a look and told me that whoever you were, I was probably in love with you because apparently when I think of you, I get a weird expression on my face." Ogiwara hid said face in his hands, feeling the hot heat of his blush practically burning them.

Kuroko wasn't faring any better as he was rooted to his spot, in complete disbelief that the person he had been in love with FOR YEARS was now standing in front of him, telling him that his feelings were actually mutual.

The blunette honestly didn't know if he would be able to survive after all this.

But he decided that if there was a chance that the feelings that he kept locked up could actually be reciprocated, well, Kuroko had to take the leap of faith.

"I love you." Kuroko couldn't help but feel exhilarated as the three simple but not at all simple words finally left his mouth.

Ogiwara froze as he dropped his hands, looking at Kuroko with shocked but hopeful eyes. "What?"

Kuroko took a deep breath before letting all feelings he held for the brown-haired alpha to finally be out in the open.

"I love you, Ogiwara-kun. I have since our first meeting. Well, I definitely felt something for you during that time. I'm not quite sure if it was love yet but I know that whatever this feeling was, it soon evolved into love the more time we spent together, the more I got to know you. If you asked me what I loved about you, I would simply just say everything. The way you smile even though it was for something as small as a ladybug landing on your hand or the way you completely fail at speaking even elementary-level english..."

"Are you confessing to me or just teasing me, Kuroko?" Ogiwara pouted though his eyes were shining brilliantly with a thin sheen of tears.

Kuroko couldn't help but smile back as he continued. "Both. For me, your happiness is my happiness. When you had quit playing basketball before, I was about to join you. I had quit my basketball team but after receiving your message along with your wristband, you gave me the courage and resolve to fight on and bring back the love of our sport back to my friends...and eventually to you as well. When I saw you cheer for me during the winter cup....I couldn't help but cry tears of joy. Just seeing you there, holding up our basketball and rooting me on....it'll forever be one of my most precious memories.

"There are many things that made me fall for you. But I think the most important thing that made me love you was that ever since our first meeting, never once had you ever not noticed my presence. No matter what, you had always been there for me, had never ignored me...you were the only one who SAW me when most other people didn't. And to me...that meant more than anything. For the first time, you made me feel as if I truly had a place in this world- that my existence actually meant something to someone." There was a light pink dusted on the beta's cheeks as he looked down, shy about his confession.

"Kuro-nhm...Tetsuya." Ogiwara couldn't help the grin spread on his lips at the loud inhale Kuroko made at the other addressing him by his first name for the first time.

"Tetsuya....I love you. I may not have loved you as long as you have apparently loved me for, but I'll make sure that my feelings for you will be a million times stronger so we'll be even." The alpha told the blunette with a wink and a bright grin.

"You're a fool to think that you can surpass me. But I must also be a fool too because I've always loved you. I already knew that you were my one and there would be no one else for me. That you were my soulmate." Kuroko chuckled, sniffling a bit. "I really must be an idiot since I knew I loved you from the very beginning but I just didn't have the courage to say anything."

And he had been scared. What if his feelings had been unwanted? What if Ogiwara had rejected him and never wanted to see him again? What if he had lost his best friend and the only person to notice him, see him and always remembered his presence no matter what?

Kuroko had been so afraid that he couldn't risk their friendship on what he had thought was his unwanted feelings.

Because he was Kuroko Tetsuya.

Plain, invisible, ghost-like, a mere phantom...only Kuroko Tetsuya.

Who would ever notice, let alone miss him?

But now, Kuroko had an answer to that question.

Ogiwara would miss him.

Ogiwara would notice him if he was gone and would miss him if he never saw the beta again.

Kuroko truly loved Ogiwara. And to his wildest imagination, Ogiwara had apparently loved Kuroko back.

Ogiwara grinned widely as he brought the other in his arms and hugged the blunette tightly, almost to the point of suffocation. "Then we'll be fools and idiots together. And from now on, we'll tell each other everything we want to say. Starting with this."

Pulling away from the other slightly so they were looking face to face, Ogiwara gave him one of his bright and loving smiles.

"From now on, please call me by my first name. Okay, Tetsuya?"

Kuroko took in a deep breath before nodding and leaning in closer, their lips just a few millimeters away. Smiling, he made a quiet reply before he quickly closed the distance between them.

"Okay...Shigehiro-kun."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Waaah! I'm so tired!" The brunette sighed as he laid down on the cool, soft grass.

The blunette chose to sit beside him, panting as he was also tired but his usual deadpanned eyes were alight with excitement.

"That was so fun!" The brunette beamed at the other, wiping up the sweat dripping down his face with his shirt. The two had just finished playing basketball together for what seemed like hours before they finally decided to call it a day when they saw that the sun was beginning to set.

The blunette nodded though he did give a small smile that seemed a bit sad. "You're really good. But I'm nowhere near your level- I couldn't even make a basket." The little boy sighed regretfully.

The brunette sat up, and scooted himself closer to the other, placing his hands on the smaller boy's shoulders as he looked at the boy directly into his light blue eyes. "That doesn't matter. You don't need to score the most baskets or have the coolest special moves in order to enjoy basketball. As long as you have fun while playing basketball, then you'll already be a winner- no matter what the final score says. Okay?"

The blunette searched for any falseness in the other's brown eyes, but only saw the confidence in them. Slowly, the blunette felt the corners of his lips lift slightly.

The brunette gasped, his eyes blown wide open. "Whoa! You're smiling!"

This made the blunette pull away, making sure to fix his face to look expressionless once more. "I'm not."

"You were!" The brunette insisted, pouting when he saw the boy look blank once more. "No need to be shy- you look so cute when you smile!"

The blunette frowned. "I'm not shy and I'm not cute."

"Ah, no need to get all tsun-tsun on me!" The brunette crowed. "I swear I'll get you to smile again. Promise!" He gave a wink.

The blunette sighed, just stopping himself from rolling his eyes. Instead, he made sure to give the brunette his best unamused look before getting up and brushing any dirt off himself. "We'll see. Anyway, it's getting late so I need to go." He gave the other a small bow before grabbing his ball and walking away.

The brunette scrambled after him and hurried to catch up to the smaller boy. "Hey, you may think I was joking but I really do hope to see you again. I really had so much for playing with you!"

The blunette slowly stopped in his steps and looked at the brunette. "You really had fun playing with me? Even if I wasn't that good?" He asked, sounding uncertain.

The brunette nodded furiously. "When I played with you, I can tell how happy you were and how much you enjoyed playing. Just seeing that, it fired me up too! And besides, you can always get better the more we play together in the future, so I'm totally not worried about that at all. You're really fun and I really want to play with you again! I'm coming here tomorrow so you'll come and join me too, okay?" The boy looked pleadingly at the other.

The blunette looked really shocked by the other's words and to the brunette's immense joy, the blunette graced him with another small but definitely happy smile. "Okay. I'll play with you tomorrow." He conceded.

The brunette cheered giving a little happy dance that his new friend would play with him again. Grinning happily, the brunette held out his hand to the other, "I have a feeling we'll be the bestest of friends. And since friends should know each other's names, I'll say mine first. Hi! My name is Ogiwara Shigehiro!"

The blunette slowly took the other's offered hand, and he couldn't help the tiny gasp he gave when he felt that familiar sensation go through him, feeling the connection that for the first time in his life, had actually belonged to him.

Hmm, things were definitely going to be quite interesting in the days, weeks and maybe even years to come with this brown-haired, slightly taller, smiley guy who also shared his love of basketball.

Giving the other's hand a firm shake, the blunette made sure to speak in a clear voice as he gave the other another small smile that was genuinely friendly this time.

"My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. I have a feeling we'll be good friends from now on, Ogiwara-kun."


	16. Chapter 16

## A Green Tea Popsicle For Her

Furihata Kouki suddenly found himself hit with a strange case of deja vu.

He had been taking a shortcut through the park with his bag of groceries in hand before noticing something up ahead.

There was a small group of children circled together, whispering and pointing to another figure on a bench a few feet away.

The figure was one of a female, and she wasn't quite sitting on the bench as she was more like laying on it in a rumpled heap.

And for Kouki, her long bright pink hair completely gave away her identity to him.

Shooing the kids and telling them it would be rude to poke someone with a stick and adding that he was pretty sure the girl on the bench was still alive, the omega made his way towards the pink girl.

He couldn't help but feel a bit rattled as he recalled having been in a similar situation to this a few months ago involving a lost and hungry purple giant instead.

As he stood right in front of the bench, the girl didn't make any movement, making Kouki worry for a moment if the kids had been right and maybe she wasn't alive after all.

The brunette hesitatingly reached down to give the girl a soft poke to the top of her head and he immediately recoiled as the girl smacked his hand away and began to scream bloody murder, cursing blasphemy at her intruders.

"Momoi-san! It's me! It's me! IT'S FURIHATA KOUKI! PLEASE STOP SCREAMING MOMOI-SAN!" He shouted, making sure not to touch the upset, screaming girl again.

The screams suddenly stopped as Momoi lifted her face to look at him, squinting her tear-wrenched eyes to make him out.

When she finally recognized him, her face crumpled and she burst into more tears (it's obvious that she had already been crying beforehand) and hugged herself to his middle, sobbing loudly.

Kouki stood there with eyes opened in shock for a moment before quickly putting his groceries down on the bench besides them before taking a seat, letting the girl hug him as she continued to weep.

The brunette sat there, whispering gently to the crying girl as he softly rubbed her back and used his fingers to comb her long pink hair back so it wouldn't get in the way.

Omega pheromones, both female and male, had a calming agent in them that have at times been able to calm even the most violent situations. Because of this, Kouki made sure to exude some of his omega pheromones out to help comfort the distraught Momoi.

Some people who passed by them gave him a few dark and disgusted stares at first (thinking that he was the one to cause Momoi's crying fit) before getting a whiff of his calming omega scent and realized that he was just a fellow omega who was merely trying to help her out. From there, the hatred in their eyes soon turned apologetic as the people gave him sympathetic and encouraging smiles as they left to give them some privacy.

When Momoi's crying finally died down, Kouki kept rubbing her back as he waited patiently for her to speak first.

More minutes passed before Momoi slowly pulled away and straightened, nodding her head as Kouki handed her one of the tissues he had gotten from the grocery as a freebie.

Blowing her nose, the pair sat on the bench quietly for a few more moments before Momoi finally spoke up in a soft voice, the sound coming out in a croak-like manner due to all the crying she had done earlier. "I just found out that K-Kuroko-kun is dating someone." She mumbled.

Hit by a wave of understanding, Kouki stood up and held his hand out to the other. "Let's go."

Momoi looked up at him curiously, but thankfully she was no longer crying. Nonetheless, she took Kouki's hand and with his help, managed to stand up as well. "Where are we going?"

Kouki gave her a gentle smile as he bent down to grab his groceries in his other hand and started to lead her away. "To my house. I think it would be more comfortable for the both of us to talk there."

The two omegas walked back to the brunette's house, in silence but it was a comfortable kind of quiet.

Once there, Kouki directed Momoi to wait for him in the living room while he put away the food he had bought.

The pink-haired omega looked around the brunette's living room, noting the room's simple decor and layout. She smiled at the photos that were strewn across the walls and shelves, cooing at their elementary school pictures and giggling at the photos with the Seirin members in wacky poses.

There were also pictures of Kouki together with Seijuurou, the couple making Momoi's heart ache with how happy they looked together.

She took a seat on the couch as she waited for the other to come back.

To her surprise, Kouki returned after a few minutes with a large quart of ice cream in one hand while the other hand held up two spoons.

"I hope it's not too girly for me to admit, but when I'm feeling down, I've learned that ice cream usually helps me feel a bit better. Especially chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream." He gave the pink-haired girl a sheepish smile as he offered her one of the spoons.

Momoi smiled at him gratefully as she shook her head, accepting the spoon. "It's not girly at all! Besides, we're both omegas after all- we can eat ice cream no matter what the reason." She pointed out, winking at him.

Kouki chuckled as he nodded, opening the container. They both dug into the ice cream, both moaning at the creamy vanilla mixing well with the buttery chocolate chip dough. "Mmm! Yup, omegas plus ice cream is definitely a match made in heaven!" Momoi moaned in happiness, scooping up more of the cold treat.

As they ate, Kouki decided to carefully bring up the topic from before. "So...are you feeling better now, Momoi-san?" He asked slowly, observing the other's expression.

Momoi paused in her eating, her smile slowly fading away, becoming somber. "I'm....not okay. I'm better than I was back in the park, but I'm not okay." She admitted quietly, looking down at her spoon.

Kouki gave her an understanding smile, offering her more from the quart. "So you're feeling sad because of Kuroko dating someone else?" He asked, gently.

Momoi nodded. "Furi-kun, surely you know that Tetsu-kun is dating someone. I know that you're close to him due to the both of you being in the same basketball and library clubs." She pointed out. Kouki was impressed that she knew all this, but he wasn't surprised since he knew that Teiko's past and Touou's current manager was known for her excellent data collecting skills.

The brunette nodded. "They've been dating for about two weeks now, I think." He still remembered grilling Kuroko about what had happened between him and the brown-haired alpha when he had left them after the match. He was so happy for his friend when the blunette had confirmed that his guess that the two had feelings for one another was correct. The pair had started dating soon after.

Momoi sighed sadly. "Everyone was messaging earlier about where to meet up tomorrow for our monthly gathering and that's when Tetsu-kun announced that he was going out with someone."

"Oh, and how did everyone take it?" Kouki asked curiously.

Momoi frowned. "Well, you know how I took it- not very well. Mukkun and Midorin sounded indifferent to it, but that's just their way of saying that they're okay with whatever Tetsu-kun chooses to do. Dai-chan made teasing remarks but I could tell that he approved too. Ki-chan cried at first, but later on begged Tetsu-kun to spill the juicy details about his relationship- so I knew that he was okay with it in the end. As for Akashi-kun, he was quiet at first but in the end he asked if Tetsu-kun was happy and if his...boyfriend would look after him properly. When Tetsu-kun said yes, that answer was enough for Akashi-kun and he soon gave his blessing as well."

Kouki smiled fondly, especially at the mention of his mate. He had a feeling that deep down, Seijuurou still felt a bit guilty about what had happened in the past, so that may have had a little to do with him being okay with Kuroko dating Ogiwara.

"So, you're upset about Kuroko dating because you wanted to date him yourself?" The brunette stated this rather than make it a question.

The pink-haired omega nodded. "Exactly! But now he's taken and...and..." Kouki started to panic when the girl started to tear up. Thankfully, Momoi quickly rubbed at her eyes to stop herself before shoving a few more spoons of ice cream to calm down.

"Um...I'm sorry if this comes out as rude, but I'm pretty sure that Kuroko had made it clear that his feelings for you weren't exactly the same as what you feel for him, right? Or had he led you on?" Kouki asked, recalling the times where he saw the pinkhead together with the blunette.

Kuroko always treated Momoi gently and with respect, but Kouki could tell that the beta kept a certain distance from the omega, his actions showing that he only regarded the girl as a friend.

Momoi bit her lip at that as she shook her head. "Tetsu-kun is a complete gentleman- he had never led me on! I....I already knew that he only saw me as a friend but....but, I thought that as long as he was still single, then maybe I still had a chance to change his mind! But now..." Momoi saddened as she looked down. "But now that he's dating someone else, I don't have any chance anymore."

Kouki looked at her with sympathy, trying to think of what to say next. Eventually, he decided to ask her something that he'd been wondering about for a while, "Why do you like him so much? I mean, I remember you telling us about the story with the popsicle and how Kuroko gave you his winning stick but...isn't that too fickle of a reason to like someone? Surely there has to be another reason that you like him so much?"

Momoi gave a small smile, her eyes drifting off into her thoughts. "There is another reason. The time with the popsicle was only the start of my crush on him- when I first realized that I liked him. But what made me fall in love with Kuroko was what happened afterwards.

"Because of the way I look, I've always been looked down upon. People always saw me as the dumb pink omega, only good for her looks and appearance. Because of that, I always did my best in my academics, trying to prove to them all that I was more than just a pretty face with big boobs. But it didn't stop girls from being jealous of me while guys looked at me with dirty eyes. It also didn't help that I loved basketball so much and because of this, I ended up being surrounded by guys most of the time since it's rare for girls around here to be so invested in guy sports as much as I was. While girls would be reading myojo and gossiping about the latest fashion trends, I was reading basketball weekly and analyzing the competition against the other schools.

"This is why I don't like your coach very much. Because Aida-san is similar to me- someone who puts sports first over girly stuff. But unlike me, people respect and look up to her. It's not fair. Even the guys she has crushes on, are also interested in her back. She dated that other guy- the tall one, Kiyoshi, before and even though they had broken up, they're still close friends. And now your captain is so in love with her that it's painfully obvious. Her love is requited while my love only wants to be friends with me. And I've seen her hanging out with her girl friends...seeing them shop for cute clothes, eating at cute cafes. I'm so jealous that I can't help but call her Miss Barely-B Cup every time I see her because the only thing I can beat her in is in breast-size."

Momoi noticed the pity in the brunette's face and quickly waving her hands, laughing a bit. "Ah! This doesn't mean that I don't have any friends at all- I do have a small group of close girl friends that I get along with very well and I do like to talk about girly stuff every once in a while. It's just that...I wish I had more friends, I suppose. But I guess it can't be helped since basketball is one of my main priorities, rather than exchanging gossip here and there."

"So that's why you get along with Aomine-kun so well." Kouki pointed out, knowing how much the ganguro loved basketball.

Momoi giggled as she nodded. "Yup. We've been neighbors and childhood friends for so long...we were known for being such basketball junkies when we were young. I guess that hasn't really change, ne?"

She sighed as she continued her story. "Anyway, because of my looks and how people see me as, I've always been an easy target for the guys. And most of the time, the attention I got from men wasn't exactly the type that I wanted.

"One time, I was being harassed by a group of guys at school. It happened behind one of the school buildings and no one was around to help me. I had been on an errand for a teacher but I had gotten lost and accidentally stumbled across them- they were smoking some type of drug or something." She told him, frowning at the memory. "When I tried to get away, they had cornered me and tried to make a move on me." Kouki gasped as Momoi shuddered in disgust.

"But before they could do anything to me, Tetsu-kun had suddenly appeared and managed to trip them up. Apparently he was also on an errand and had spotted me wandering around. He noticed that there was something off and had come to check on me. Anyway, using his misdirection, he grabbed my hand and we escaped. The group ran after us- even though Tetsu-kun was unnoticeable, I stood out too much. But thankfully Tetsu-kun managed to trick the group into going towards the disciplinarian while me and him ducked behind one of the building's pillars. The group was caught and brought to the office. I remember that they were expelled the next day." She smiled as she remembered how the blunette had saved her.

"Tetsu-kun had always saved me- that day and a few times more after that. But that's not why I like him. I like Tetsu-kun because he doesn't treat me like the other guys do. He doesn't look down at me or give disgusting lewd looks at my body or face. He doesn't talk badly about me behind my back or thinks I'm just a body with no brains. He sees me as someone with intelligence. He always gives me more respect than I really deserve and he's always there to help me when I need him. He doesn't even get irritated at me when I cling onto him and he always smiles at me even though he rarely smiles at all. I....I really love Tetsu-kun." Momoi sobbed at the end, burying her face in her hands as she started to cry again.

Kouki placed the half empty quart of ice cream and their spoons on the table before reaching up to rub the pink-haired omega's back. He made sure to bring out his scent once more in hopes for his omega pheromones to help calm the devastated girl.

As Momoi's cries started to die down, Kouki continued rubbing her back as he held out another tissue from his pocket. "Feeling better?"

Momoi blew her nose noisily into the tissue as up she nodded her head. "Yes. I'm sorry, Furihata-kun. I'm sorry that you have to deal with such a mess today. It's not fair to you at all." She apologized.

Kouki shook his head. "It's fine, Momoi-san. I mean, I can't count the times I've cried and was probably a inconvenience to someone else. Not that you're an inconvenience to me! What I mean is that I understand that sometimes, you just need to have a good cry in order to feel better." He told her.

Momoi gave him a small smile as she wiped up her eyes. "But I must be really pathetic right now." She said sadly.

Kouki's eyes widened at he shook his head fervently at that. "Of course you're not!"

"I am! Crying over someone who I knew would never like me back...it's sad really." She insisted, miserable.

Kouki gave her another tissue. "Momoi-san....do you know why I joined the basketball team?" He asked suddenly.

"You joined the basketball team because your crush, Manaka Rin, at the time a first year but now a second year Seirin student, told you that she would go out with you if you were number one at something. Basketball just happened to be the first thing that caught your attention so that's why you chose it." Momoi said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Of course she already knew.

Kouki nodded. "I met Rin-chan in middle school. She was one of the most prettiest girls I had ever seen- with long shiny black hair, and pretty brown eyes and her laugh was so cute...don't tell Sei I said this." Kouki gave the pinkhead a wink. "But what made me fall for her was that she was always kind to me and hung out with me whenever I was alone. Do you know what happened after the team won the winter cup?"

Momoi kept her gaze down, absentmindedly ripping her tissue in tiny shreds. "I'm going to assume that she finally went out with you." she guessed.

Kouki gave a sad smile at the memory and shook his head. "Actually, no. We didn't."

The pink-haired omega finally looked up from her shreds, giving the brunette a confused look. "What? But didn't she say that she would date you if you were number one? Your basketball team won so doesn't that mean that you became number one at something?"

Kouki sighed. "Well, Rin-chan didn't think so. She told me that it wasn't really my win since I only scored one point. To her, the people who became number one were only the players in the first-string." He explained.

Momoi looked aghast at that. "That's complete bull! In basketball, every point counts! And you guys won by ONE point! Without you, your team could have lost!" She said, furious with his past crush.

Kouki chuckled. "Thank you, Momoi-san. And don't worry, my friends already told me the exact same thing when they found out what Rin-chan said. They assured me that I was the one who shifted the flow of the game and helped us win."

"That right." Momoi agreed, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Rin-chan also told me that she actuall never planned on dating me whether I had become number one or not- that she only pitied me and that's why she acted so nice to me. She even showed me a picture of the boyfriend that she had been dating for a few months now- apparently he was the captain of the baseball team. I was....really humiliated and heartbroken at the time." He confessed.

Momoi felt her heart go out to the fellow omega, feeling horrible for his rejection and at the same time murderous that some bitch played him like that. "Oh, Furi-kun...."

Kouki shook his head and gave her a smile. "It's okay. I eventually got over her. All my friends comforted me and the team offered some plans for revenge- I remember Coach's plans of involving a tank of crabs was the most horrifying of the bunch." Kouki giggled at the memory.

"Anyway, what I wanted to let you know is that I understand about getting your heart broken. I know how it feels to cry over someone you liked, someone whom you knew would never like you back- because I think I also knew that deep down Rin would never like me...even if I became number one or not." The brunette patted the other girl on the shoulder. "So if you think that you're pathetic for crying, then I must also be pathetic too since I also cried before. I cried a lot actually." He admitted, looking a bit embarrassed at the admission.

Momoi reached up and took the hand on her shoulder, holding onto it before giving it a good squeeze. "Does it ever go away? The pain?" She asked in a soft voice.

"It does. It may take a while, but the pain lessens. But I think...the pain will still be there. Deep down inside. The only time it will finally be gone is when you find another person to love even more than you had that first time. Because for me, when I fell in love with Sei, any feelings I had for Rin-chan were gone. And I was finally freed from all the pain that she had left behind." He told her, giving her hand a returned squeeze.

Momoi sighed, not moving their hands away. "Is it bad if I want to break them up?" She questioned quietly, voicing out what had been on her mind for a while now.

Kouki took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. "I don't think that would be fair for both Kuroko and you, but if you really want to, I have no right to stop you."

"I really want to break them up. I don't want to see Tetsu-kun with anyone but me. That's selfish of me right?" She asked again.

"You are very selfish if you do that." The brunette agreed, not even bothering to deny it. "But like I said, it's up to you to do what you think is best."

"What do you think I should do, Furi-kun?"

"I think you should have a talk with him. Make sure he knows the full extent of your feelings and tell him what you want from him. From there, it's up to Kuroko to decide what to do next." Kouki answered.

Momoi was quiet for a moment before speaking up again, "I'll tell him tomorrow. I'll ask him if we can talk alone between the two of us and then I'll get him to break up with his...boyfriend." Momoi decided stubbornly.

"If that's what you want, then okay." Kouki told her. He knew to never go against a woman in anguish. Momoi was upset now, but he had faith that the pink-haired omega would do the right thing in the end.

"Can you come by tomorrow and be by my side when I talk to Tetsu-kun. For support?" She pleaded.

The brunette looked surprised. "Um, I don't think I should. Shouldn't it just between the two of you? And besides, isn't your monthly gatherings for GOM members only?" He asked uncertainly.

Momoi frowned. "I'm sure you'd be welcome to come. Besides, you're already considered as an honorary GOM member anyway." She pointed out.

Kouki still looked hesitant. "Well...I guess if I had an excuse to drop by then I could come. But only long enough for you to talk to Kuroko. Maybe I should bring like a treat or something..." He trailed off, thinking about it.

Momoi's eyes started to light up at the suggestion, "Ooh! We can cook something today and then you can drop by with it tomorrow to share with everyone. I think that would be a great idea! Please, please, please come?" She begged, giving him puppy eyes.

Kouki gave her a weary look as he finally conceded. "Okay. Let's do that then, Momoi-san."

"Yay!" She cheered. "And also...you call me by my first name, okay? Since I'm pretty sure we're friends now and all, right? You can call me Sacchan and I can call you Kou-kun....is that okay?" She suggested, looking shy as she asked.

Kouki gave her a fond smile. "Okay, Sacchan. And it's okay- feel free to call me whatever you like. I don't mind."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Will you calm down already, Satsuki! Sheesh, who the hell are you looking for anyway?"

Momoi only stuck her tongue out at her best friend as she once again looked over the entire courtyard, trying to spot if a familiar brunette had finally made it.

The rest of her friends were playing three-on-three matches on the court and so far, the team with Seijuurou, Kuroko and Midorima were in the lead by two points.

All the guys knew that something was up with their only girl member since the pinkhead couldn't keep still in her seat and had made multiple rounds around the court...making frequent glances at the entranceways and exits.

"Is Sa-chin okay?" Murasakibara asked, sucking on a Pocky stick in his mouth. The teams were currently taking a short break and were now observing their only female present.

"Momoi-san has been acting strange all day." Kuroko pointed out, taking a sip from his water bottle.

Kise came up from behind him and stole the blunette's bottle, taking a gulp from it. "Thanks Kurokocchi! But yeah, Momoicchi is acting weird." Kise sighed.

"I didn't say you could drink from my bottle, Kise-kun." Kuroko frowned, scolding the blonde.

"Oha Asa did say that Taurus' would be having a difficult time today due to personal matters. Their lucky item for today isn't an item but it was advised that they stay near a Scorpio at all times today." Midorima informed them. He clutched onto his own lucky item- a red kokeshi doll- and glared at Kise as the blonde tried to hug Kuroko (who was avoiding the other) as he begged the blunette to forgive him.

"Do you any idea why Satsuki may be acting like this, Daiki?" Akashi questioned, looking at the dark blunette with inquiring eyes. He sidestepped to the left as Kise threw himself at Kuroko, making them both bump into Murasakibara.

Aomine shrugged. "Got no idea. Maybe it's her time of month again?" He guessed, dodging to the side as Murasakibara tried to crush both Kuroko and Kise for accidentally knocking into him and making the purple giant drop all of his snacks on the dirty floor.

As the other three tried to stop Murasakibara from killing both Kise and Kuroko, they all paused when they heard Momoi call out excitedly to someone.

"Ah! You're here!" Momoi yelled out, waving her arms happily at the approaching figure. The guys looked to where the pinkhead was looking and their eyes all widened in surprise.

"Sorry I'm late- the bus took longer than I expected." Kouki apologized, waving back.

When he reached the court, Momoi rushed up to him to give him a big hug. "I'm happy you're here, Kou-kun!"

The brunette grinned as he gave her a one-armed hug in return, his other hand carrying something. "I'm happy too, Sacchan."

"Eh? Kou-kun? Sacchan?" Kise asked, looking just as surprised as the others.

"I didn't know you two were close, Furihata-kun." Kuroko told them.

Kouki rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. "Uhh...it's sort of recent thing really." Kouki explained.

"Me and Kou-kun are best friends now!" Momoi informed them all proudly.

Kuroko smiled at that. "I'm happy for you both then."

"Furi-chin....Kise-chin made me drop my snacks." Murasakibara pouted, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Mou, I said I was sorry Murasakibaracchi!" Kise moaned.

Kouki reached into his pocket and handed over some green tea candy to the giant. "Here you go, Murasakibara. I hope this will tide you over for now."

Murasakibara's eyes sparkled as he took the candy. "Thank you, Furi-chin, you're the best."

"Since Furihata is here, I suppose that Momoi's luck will go up today." Midorima nodded in approval.

Seijuurou, who had stood by quietly, made his way to his mate and wrapped his arms around the other, looking at the other with a raised eyebrow. "Hello, Kouki. Not to say that I am not happy to see you- because I am most definitely am- but I am curious as to why you are here?"

Kouki grinned as he leaned up to give his mate a short kiss. "Hello, Sei! Sacchan and I thought it would be a good idea for me to come by and drop off something we made." He gestured towards the small cooler he held in his right hand.

"You brought food, Furihata?" Aomine looked curious and excited at the prospect of food- he had tried the omega's cooking before and decided that the brunette could cook just as well as another brunette he knew. Also, the dark-skinned alpha was starving.

Kouki nodded and he step away from his alpha's arms for a bit to open up the cooler to them. "Yesterday, Momoi and I made some something for everyone to eat."

"Momoi cooked?!" Most of the guys exclaimed, though all of them had some sort of horror on their face. Kouki sighed.

Okay, yesterday even he was horrified when he realized that the pink-haired girl's culinary skills were on the same level as Coach Aida. As in, she couldn't cook to save her life or even the life of an ant.

After failed attempts of blackened cookies, rock-hard muffins and a dire case of burnt chocolate and nuts that would have been used for his dark chocolate-covered dried fruit and almonds...well...Kouki had to really think of something the the omega girl would be able to successfully make.

Finally, he found a recipe that was so easy that not easy Momoi could screw up.

"Okay, come now you guys. Momoi did her best and I watched her the entire time. I even had one this morning and nothing bad has happened. They also tasted really good." Kouki chided them, bringing out the treat they made.

"What did you make, Momoi-san?" Kuroko asked politely.

Momoi beamed as Kouki held up the treat. "I made popsicles!"

Kouki recalled a recipe he had many when he was younger for green tea popsicles. It was super easy and he knew that Momoi could do it.

All the recipe called for was a few cups of green tea (you could make your own, but Kouki thought it was best if Momoi just used the green tea that was already made and sold in stores- making it much easier for the pinkhead) and to mix it together with coconut palm sugar and some lemon juice. You could also add other things like mint leaves, mango nectar, syrups, but the brunette truly thought that simple was better for Momoi.

Keeping a close eye as the girl carefully measured each ingredient, they both tasted the mixture and Kouki assured her that it was best if the mixture tasted a bit too sweet since when it freezes, the sweetness will lessen greatly.

Momoi carefully poured the green liquid into the popsicle molds Kouki kept around the house and placed it in the freezer. From there, the two began to chat about other things as Kouki cooked up some dinner for the both of them (Kouta was sleeping over his friend's house, working on another group project). After about an hour or so, Kouki took out the popsicles and they were slushy enough that Momoi was able to place the popsicle sticks in them without the sticks moving around.

Kouki gave out of the popsicles- it turned out quite well with a pretty light green color and a smooth finish.

"Go try it, Tetsu-kun!" Momoi urged, looking in anticipation at the beta. His opinion mattered the most to her.

With a poker face, Kuroko took a tentative lick of the cold treat. His eyes widened as he looked at Momoi with surprise. "Oh, it's very good, Momoi-san."

"Really?!" Momoi practically screamed in happiness.

Kuroko nodded as he took more licks of the popsicle. "It's not too sweet and the lemon is just right."

"It's quite refreshing." Akashi complimented, tasting his own popsicle.

"Ah...it's good, Sa-chin." Murasakibara approved, taking another popsicle out of the cooler, having finished with his first one.

"Hmph. At least it's edible." Midorima pointed out, but he looked like he was enjoying his treat as well.

"It's just like the old times!" Kise commented, remembering how they would all buy and eat popsicles after practice in middle school. It was so nostalgic.

"You're a miracle worker, Furihata. You got Satsuki to make something edible. Now if only you can get her to make some decent meat buns..." Aomine hummed, almost done with his popsicle and going to take another.

Momoi smiled, very proud of herself as her friends actually enjoyed something she had made. It's always been a dream of hers to cook something delicious for the people she cared about so now she was completely ecstatic.

As the group began to talk about school and random stuff, Momoi caught Kouki's eye and made a discreet gesture towards Kuroko.

Nodding his head, Kouki gently slipped out of his mate's arms (for some reason, the alpha loved to have the omega in his arms whenever they were together) and with a peck on the redhead's cheek he gave him an apologetic look. "Ah, Sei. Sacchan and I have to step out for a bit."

Seijurou furrowed his eyebrows at his mate, but allowed the other to leave his hold. "May I ask where you two plan to go?"

Momoi was the one to answer this time. "Kou-kun and I have to talk....and is it okay if you come too, Tetsu-kun?" She asked, looking at the blunette.

Kukoro tilted his head, looking curious. "Me?"

Momoi nodded. "Yes. Please Tetsu-kun? It's important." She was practically pleading at this point.

Kuroko looked to Kouki but the brunette just shrugged, not giving any hints. Finally Kuroko nodded his head. "Okay."

The three made their way to another court, far enough that the others were out of their sight.

Kouki nodded his head at the both of them before walking a few feet away, giving the other two some space. He believed that it would be good for him to give them some privacy but to still be close enough for any needed support.

Kuroko gave Kouki a questioning look before giving his full attention to the girl in front of him- he pieced together that it was most likely Momoi who wanted to speak to him. "Yes, Momoi-san? Is something on your mind?" He asked the omega gently, hoping to let the other spill whatever was on her mind.

Momoi froze as her eyes widened comically, her mind blank of whatever she had planned to say.

She had practiced for hours last night about what she wanted to say to Kuroko, about how she could convince the other to break up with his boyfriend and be together with her instead. But now...she had no clue what she was doing anymore.

Momoi looked down at the ground, not knowing if she was going to cry or vomit at the moment.

"Sacchan." The pinkette immediately broke out of her panicking thoughts and looked up with wide eyes at Kouki who had just called out her name.

"Y-yes?" She stuttered slightly, wincing at the roughness in her voice. She could practically feel the worried stare that Kuroko was most likely giving her right now.

Kouki smiled encouragingly at her before telling her, "It's okay. It's only Kuroko."

Momoi looked incredulously at the omega, not believing what she just heard. It was only Kuroko?

ONLY Kuroko?

It's wasn't 'only' Kuroko to her. It was never 'ONLY' Kuroko.

To Momoi Satsuki, the blue haired man named Kuroko Tetsuya was EVERYTHING.

Kuroko Tetsuya who never saw her as anything less than she was or ridiculed her in any way.

Kuroko Tetsuya who helped her whenever she needed him.

Kuroko Tetsuya who listened to her problems and held her when she cried.

Kuroko Tetsuya who was her Tetsu-kun.

Sweet but surprising and incredibly strong Tetsu-kun.

Tetsu-kun who was her first love.

Feeling the fire burning in her belly as she felt the love she had for the phantom sixth man running through her, she used that love as momentum to gather her nerves and fight for the man in front of her. Convince him that she was the one for him and no one else.

Squaring her shoulders and straightening her back, Momoi looked up and confidently looked at the man she was in love with.

And then she faltered.

Because in front of her was indeed Kuroko Tetsuya, but when she looked at him, really looked at him, it was like he was a different person.

He still looked the same and just like she had thought, he had a look of worry on his face for her, although he gave her his small, hardly noticeable but still as encouraging smile when she faced him.

It's was his eyes that was different to her.

Because in his eyes, Momoi could see something in them that she never saw before.

There was happiness, genuine true happiness in his eyes.

And now that she got a good look at Kuroko, she realized that the glowing happiness that was in the blunette's eyes was also radiating out of every inch of the beta himself.

The heaviness that usually weighted down his shoulders was no where to be seen now and he was no longer shrouded in the shadows and the tiny bit of loneliness that had always lingered around him.

Ah, so that was it.

Her Tetsu-kun wasn't a shadow at this moment- he was shining brighter than any light out there.

Momoi sighed as she felt a new resolve burn inside of her.

"Tetsu-kun?" She called out, the tremble that had once been in her voice gone now.

"Yes?" Kuroko answered curiously.

Momoi looked at him silently for a few seconds before giving him a wide smile. "I'm in love with you Tetsu-kun. I've always been in love with you."

Kuroko blinked at her declaration before giving a small smile in return as he replied, "I know, Momoi-san."

Even as she felt tears threatening to break out, the pinkette smile grew even wider as she said, "I love you so much Tetsu-kun. So so very very much! My love with you is so great that it would take me twenty years of non-stop talking to tell you even a fraction of how much you mean to me. So I'm sure that I'll always love you, Tetsu-kun. In my heart, there will always be a piece that'll always belong to you, no matter what happens."

Taking a deep breath, Momoi blinked away the tears that were now slightly blurring her vision as she said with a strong clear voice and conviction bursting forth in every fiber of her being, "So because I love you so much, I want to let you know that I've decided that I'm finally ready to let you go."

Kuroko's eyes widened at her words while Momoi could hear the loud gasp Kouki made at the side. But the pinkhead meant every word she said and even though it was the hardest thing for her to do, she couldn't find any feelings of regret for letting her him go.

Because Momoi Satsuki was in love with her Tetsu-kun.

But her Tetsu-kun was not in love with Momoi Satsuki.

Her Tetsu-kun had never been in love with her.

In fact, he wasn't 'her' Tetsu-kun.

He's was Ogiwara's now.

Momoi didn't want to admit it, but she knew. She had a feeling about Ogiwara. Ever since the time when she found out that Kuroko had quit their basketball team because of what happened during their match against his childhood friend, Momoi had an inkling suspicion about the two.

Kuroko had always had his eyes on Ogiwara.

Kuroko had always belonged to Ogiwara.

And now Ogiwara belonged to Kuroko.

Momoi had lost...but as long as Kuroko was happy, then it was okay.

She knew that she would be okay.

Wiping away the tears that had finally begun to fall down her cheeks, Momoi giggled when Kuroko offered his handkerchief to her.

Even now, he was always the gentleman.

"I know you'll find someone who'll love you, in the way that you deserve. And you deserve the world, Momoi-san." Kuroko assured her, reaching out to give her hand a light squeeze.

Momoi giggle as she nodded. "Yeah, I do. And I will find someone. Someday." She still loved Kuroko. Loved how he doesn't apologize for not loving her back, for not giving her sorry excuses or unnecessary explanations. He knew that she didn't want all that. He knew that she already knew how he felt so she didn't need to be told anymore. All she wanted now was for him to just hold her hand.

Even for just a little bit longer.

"Thank you for loving me, Momoi-san." The '-even though I couldn't love you like that in return' was already implied so there was no need for it to be said aloud, which Momoi was immensely grateful for.

The pink-haired omega smiled as she shook her head. "Oh, Tetsu-kun....thank you for letting me love you. I'm grateful that you were my first love...I'm so very lucky." Momoi told him.

They both smiled at one another, knowing that everything was going to be alright between them. Because no matter what, their friendship was as strong as their love for basketball.

Finally, Kuroko gently let go of Momoi's hand.

"Shall we head back? I'm sure the others must be wondering about us." Kuroko said.

Momoi shook her head as she waved her hand away. "Ah, I think I'm gonna stay here for a while. You can go first, Tetsu-kun." She offered.

Kuroko nodded and gave her that rare smile of his, before stepping away and walking back to the courts.

Momoi watched him disappear behind the gate, staring after him even when she could no longer hear his footsteps.

Momoi took a deep, shaky breath, suddenly feeling all the strength leave her body. She slowly slid down and took a seat on the floor, looking at nothing in particular at the distance.

"You did it." Momoi didn't even find it in herself to be surprised, even though she had forgotten for a moment that her fellow omega friend had also been there, quietly supporting her from the side.

Kouki sat beside her, crossing his legs as he gazed in the same direction as she was. There was a lovely view of the trees blowing and the sky was very blue. And it clear with no cloud in sight.

It was a nice day.

The two continued to sit there in a comfortable silence, Momoi watching a group of kids running around as she thought of nothing at all. For the first time that day, the chaotic thoughts in her mind were all gone.

As a cat curled behind one of the benches to take an afternoon nap, Momoi spoke up, "I couldn't break them up."

Kouki hummed. "Why?"

Momoi shrugged. "Because he looked happy. I...want him to be happy."

Kouki was quiet for a moment before he spoke up again. "I knew that you wouldn't be able to break them up."

"Why?" she asked, curious.

Kouki gave his own shrug. "Because you're a good person. And good people don't intentionally hurt others- especially those they love."

They watched as a flock of birds flew across the sky, passing through one of the few clouds in the sky. "It's over." Momoi sighed.

Kouki played with a stray strand of hair that got in his face. "It is. With Kuroko, it's over. But...that doesn't mean that everything is over. When something ends....that just means that something new is ready to begin." Kouki turned his head to give her a small smile. "And maybe something better this time."

Momoi nodded, looking wistful. "Maybe something better."

They were both quiet once more, with Kouki radiating out his soothing omega vibes while Momoi brushed away some of the few irritating tears that would drop down her cheeks, no matter how much she tried to hold them in.

After a while, the pink-haired omega's stomach gave out a loud growl, making her blush hotly but quickly the two ended up erupting with giggles.

"Shall we go get something to eat?" Momoi suggested, taking Kouki's offered hand to stand up.

"What about the others?" Kouki questioned, waving a hand in the direction where their friends were at.

Momoi shook her head. "They'll be fine on their own. They're big boys. Anyway, do you have any more ice cream from yesterday?"

Kouki looked thoughtful. "There's not a lot left. We'll probably have to stop by the store to get more."

Momoi pursed her lips before shaking her head. "Nope. I changed my mind on the ice cream thing- let's get a pizza instead. I wanna stuff my face with it while I wallow in my broken heart for just a little longer."

"With everything on top?" The brunette guessed.

Momoi nodded. "And extra pepperoni. And with no olives."

Kouki made a sound of approval. "Exactly."

As they began to walk away, Momoi looked at the other omega with a smile. She may not have gotten the love she had wanted, but she did receive a new friend in the end. "Kou-kun...you don't think that eating pizza as I wallow in my broken-hearted feelings is too pathetic, right?"

Kouki paused as he looked at her. "I don't think you're pathetic at all. Besides, we're both omegas after all- we can eat pizza no matter what the reason." He then grinned and gave her a wink.

Momoi's laughter rang out clear throughout the empty court as the two omegas walked away, smiling and laughing as they did so.


	17. Chapter 17

## A Free Green Tea Tofu Lunch

"Senpai, may I ask you about something?"

Mayuzumi sighed as he took a bite of his tofu. This time, he had ordered the same dish as the redhead- green tea and tamarind marinated tofu with vegetables.

Mm...for something as bland as tofu, the marinade made it taste really good. There was a sour and bitter taste to it that the beta really liked. And the vegetables were nice too, although the red pepper was a tad bit undercooked.

But it's not like he would ever tell any of his musings to the redhead.

Yes, Mayuzumi was currently sitting in a restaurant eating together with the one and only Akashi Seijuurou.

What the hell was with his life and how did it go so wrong?

Being born as the only son of an anesthesiologist and a finance manager, Mayuzumi's family was well off in terms of money. But the beta had always looked down on the type of kids who rode their parents coattails and lived off their mommy and daddy's money.

That's why, at a very young age Mayuzumi made it known that he would not be the same as those stuck-up brats. He will work for what he gets and he will become an editor in a publishing company one day.

His parents were just happy that their usually nonchalant son was ambitious about something and actually wanted to make something of himself. So they fully supported this decision.

The only thing the family argued about was where the silver-haired boy would attend for college.

His parents wanted him to go to University of Tokyo, the number one top ranked university in Japan. And it was even up there with the rest of the international schools.

Mayuzumi on the other hand, wanted to go to Hosei University. This was because Hosei was also one of the country's top schools and even though U-Tokyo was ranked number 1, the beta was sure that the school would be overpopulated with a lot of know-it-alls.

Also, the beta overheard some of his classmates talking about attending U-Tokyo during homeroom. Well, the beta didn't really have anything against his classmates, but he really didn't want to be forced to having to interact with any of them for an additional four years- which he just knew they would try to get all buddy-buddy with him if he had attended there.

But what sealed the deal for him was that Hosei was located right near Jinbocho, which was a town with a bookish atmosphere. It was known as a bookworm's heaven, hosting streets of used bookstores and publishing houses. And there was also a lot of cafes and curry houses where Mayuzumi could stay at and enjoy an affordable meal while cuddled up with a good light novel.

So when the new school year rolled by, Mayuzumi Chihiro once again became a first year student, taking up the course of Japanese Literature....at Hosei University.

While his parents insisted to pay for his tuition and rent, Mayuzumi decided to take up a part-time job in order to pay for his food and living expenses.

From there, everything seemed to be going on track for the silver-haired beta. He was well on his way to living his dream life of complete normalcy and mediocracy.

And then one day, a redheaded alpha of the name of Akashi Seijuurou, walked into his life once more.

Well, actually the redhead had walked into the cafe he was part-timing in, but when Seijuurou had noticed that he worked there, the beta was horrified when the other decided to return to the cafe every two weeks so he could visit the beta often.

When Mayuzumi had graduated from Rakuzan, he had let everything go and made sure to leave no ties or connections behind him. Even though he had to admit that his final year in Rakuzan had been...not boring, almost fun if Mayuzumi could admit it to himself....but alas, it kept him away from the plain and simple life he had yearned for. So he was fine with leaving everything and everyone behind him- including those erratic kings, Kuroko Tetsuya, and his mentally unstable captain, Akashi Seijuurou.

Look, he had nothing against Seijuurou personally.

It's just that Mayuzumi really couldn't stand 98% of the world's population- especially people that constantly tried to badger and cling onto him.

And yes, he considered what the redhead was doing to him to be exactly like a leech clinging onto his prey and sucking the life out of poor Mayuzumi.

The brat just wouldn't leave him alone!

But...maybe it was all Mayuzumi's fault in the first place?

When the heir had first visited his cafe, he had asked Mayuzumi if he would like to have a bite to eat with him at a restaurant he knew. Mayuzumi KNEW he should have declined that offer. Because really, hanging out with Akashi Seijuurou would lead to nothing but headaches for him in the future.

But when the words 'free wagyu beef' was mentioned....well, could anyone really blame Mayuzumi for taking up the offer?

Damn the glutton human nature. It truly is a sin.

And also damn to his manager- she had given into Seijuurou's request of giving the beta an early break. That woman was too old for the heir anyway!

So after that first meeting, the beta somehow found himself being visited every two weeks by Seijuurou and together they would go out to a different or sometimes the same restaurant (if it was really good) to eat a meal. It was on the redhead's tab, of course.

Again, damn the glutton human nature.

During these 'meetings' Mayuzumi learned a few things about the heir that he really had no interest in learning about in the first place.

For one thing, he learned that the heir was a human of habit for many things, like food for example. Whenever he visited the cafe, Seijuurou would always order a medium drink with a small size dessert. His drink would always be a double-shot espresso or a cup of earl grey tea. For his side, it would either be a soufflé cheesecake or a sea-salt dark chocolate tart. When they went to a restaurant, whether he was still full from his cafe order or it was just the way he ate, the alpha would always order something light- mostly something Japanese or tofu. With miso soup on the side, always.

And the heir obviously had a habit of meeting up with him on time, every time, never missing a day.

Even now, it was summer (though it was raining today) and school was currently out. But still, the heir continued to make his routine meetings with him.

Wasn't he supposed to be vacationing at the Bahamas with his mate or something?

Mayuzumi sighed.

Another thing that the beta learned was that Akashi Seijuurou was completely mentally unstable.

Actually, this really wasn't anything new to Mayuzumi. After the alpha's mental breakdown during their last game together, the beta figured that there was definitely a screw loose somewhere in Seijuurou's mind.

When Seijuurou had actually confided in him that he had suffered from a screwed up family, a screwed up past with those basketball freaks and suffered with a case of dissociative identity disorder...well, Mayuzumi's first thought was that he wondered if the other saw him as a type of psychiatrist or something. Because the heir had a tendency to ask his advice on ALOT of things like stuff that happened in his love life or life in general for some god-forsaken reason that Mayuzumi was afraid to ask why.

Seijuurou had told him during their fifth or sixth meeting about his illness, telling him that he has seeked professional help and does have a psychiatrist that he visits once a week. With the therapy sessions, support from his loved ones and psych meds that he takes each day, Seijuurou managed to keep his mental and emotional illnesses under control.

And with the great help of his bond mate, Seijuurou managed to fix the bridges with his father and his friends. Even his life as a whole had improved, million-fold.

After learning all that, Mayuzumi's first thought was about whether he should start charging the redhead for what he sometimes considered these meetings as 'sessions'. Just saying.

Finally, the most important thing that the beta had learned about Akashi Seijuurou was that the heir was bonded to one Furihata Kouki, a male omega and the only person who was important to Seijuurou as breathing was.

Mayuzumi's not sure how everyone else saw this new, deep-in-love Akashi Seijuurou, but he's pretty sure it's different from what he saw in the redhead.

Because for him...there was something quite dark about the heir.

Well, not dark like the alpha was actually a secret yakuza boss or an ex-convict (though Mayuzumi would not be surprised at either if it happened to be true).

The beta could definitely see how happy and more relaxed the redhead's aura was now- any idiot could see that from a mile away. The change in the heir was truly a 180.

But...there was another part to the heir that Mayuzumi could see- a part that he wonders if Furihata Kouki was aware of was inside his mate.

It was like Akashi Seijuurou had a sort of ticking bomb inside of him. It was really hidden deep, but if something were to happen....then the beta knew that shit would definitely hit the fan.

When it came to his omega....Seijuurou got extremely protective and possessive of him.

Especially possessive. And in a dangerous way.

It wasn't dangerous in the way like Seijuurou's old personality was- now that was plain psychotic.

When someone posed even the slightest threat or showed just a bit of interest in his brunette, the redhead would show his anger in a subtle way- which would only be noticeable in his red, piercing gaze and the warning scent he would give out with his dominant alpha pheromones.

The beta recalled the time when Seijuurou had told him about some alpha who had made a lewd and dirty comment about his omega. Thankfully, the omega was distracted by Mibuchi while Seijuurou went to deal with the insolent alpha, together with Nebuya and Hayama.

Mayuzumi shuddered when he remembered the sinister smile on the redhead's face when he told the other, in gruesome details, about what they did to the alpha.

The silver-haired beta honestly didn't know who to feel more sorry for- the probably dead alpha or the redhead's bond mate who was most likely unaware about how truly terrifying his alpha could be.

Honestly, Mayuzumi would wonder at times if the heir did business for the yakuza. The position of mafia boss would seriously fit the redhead perfectly.

But atlas, Mayuzumi supposed that this was why the beta was here together with the alpha, forced to be on these once-every-two-week meetings.

Because the alpha needed some serious help. In every way imaginable.

And if the beta had to be the one to stop the heir from creating a massacre, then so be it (though he really, really, REALLY wished he didn't have to be that person).

So Mayuzumi knew that his advise was useful to the other, especially whenever Seijuurou's green-eyed monster would rear it's ugly head. Cause apparently a lot of people were attracted to his male omega (and it didn't help that the omega himself was completely clueless of the fact that he was so wanted).

Mayuzumi cannot even count how many times Seijuurou would ask his advise on how to deal with his bond mate's admirers without him ending up in jail for man-slaughter (the redhead didn't ask the last part, but it was obviously insinuated).

The alpha's jealousy was really something to be reckoned with, just like now.

"Wait, so you're jealous that your mate's been hanging around your pink friend too much?" Mayuzumi questioned, raising an eyebrow at the other.

Today's problem was how the redhead's bond mate had gotten quite close to his other female omega friend. Apparently the two had been practically inseparable for the last month and the alpha was not happy at the new development since now the alpha had less time to be with his mate.

Seijuurou frowned. "I'm not jealous." He ignored the look his senpai gave him then. "I was just caught off guard and a bit saddened when Kouki rejected my offer for a date this morning." He explained.

Mayuzumi snorted, poking at one of the green pieces of tofu on his plate. "Well it's nice to know how much you truly wanted to visit me today."

Seijuurou gave him an apologetic look in response. "You know that's not what I meant, Senpai."

"Don't call me senpai, brat." Mayuzumi rolled his eyes and he stuffed one of the tofus in his mouth.

"So what do you suggest I do, senpai? Kouki's never said no to a date before." The redhead pointed out, glumly.

Mayuzumi hummed, already knowing what to say in this situation. "All I'm hearing is how you apparently don't trust the guy. You think he's gonna leave you just like that? Hm...and here I thought you were actually fond of that mate of yours."

Seijuurou darkened, his eyes burning with anger. "I love Kouki. Do not ever accuse me of anything other than that." The heir practically hissed at him, furiously.

And this was the dark side the beta had talked about.

Most people would probably be afraid shitless of the redhead at this point, but Mayuzumi was so used to dealing with the heir's temper- especially when it involved his mate- that the beta only gave the other a bored look as he bit into one of the crab rolls loudly.

"So if you love and trust him, then stop thinking he'll leave you for someone else. If you're still worried, then just tell him about it. Don't just sit here and whine about your insecurities to me. Whine to him- he's your mate which also makes him your keeper. Not me." Mayuzumi told him, looking at the other with rare, serious eyes.

Seijuurou looked stunned before directing his gaze down at the table, looking a bit ashamed of his actions. "I apologize for always bothering you with my problems, senpai. And I shouldn't have lost my temper back there. I deeply am regretful."

Mayuzumi looked at him blankly. Now it was the time for him to cheer the alpha up since a depressed Seijuurou was just only slightly better than an angry Seijuurou.

Though they were both equally a pain in his ass.

At least now he got the heir to release all his pent up frustrations. Now the alpha won't have any unhealthy feelings stocked up inside him anymore.

"Look, Akashi. Even though I've only met your bond mate once since the winter cup, though I never really spoke to him directly, even I can tell how much he loves you. The way his eyes light up when he looks at you...it's like he's looking at a never-ending bookshelf, which is way better than the sun by the way." He added.

Seijuurou brightened as he looked up at the beta. "Do you really think so, senpai?"

Mayuzumi really did snort this time as he rolled his eyes. "I'd bet all my novels on it."

As the redhead proceeded to tell him about something 'cute' that his mate had done the week before, Mayuzumi eyed the menu beside him as he wondered whether he should order something more. As he contemplated this, he caught sight of something at the corner of his eye.

Well speak of the devil...

"Senpai, are you listening?" Seijuurou asked when he noticed the silver-haired beta looking off to somewhere.

"Nope." Mayuzumi didn't bother lying. He pointed a finger at something behind the redhead. "Also, you have a special delivery."

Seijuurou furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "What are you-"

"Sei!" The redhead stopped and his eyes widened as he quickly looked behind him. Mayuzumi watched as his former captain wore a smile that was the happiest that he had ever seen on any human being. He actually found it kinda disgusting how happy the alpha looked.

"Kouki, what are you doing here?" Akashi standing up as his mate came up to their table.

There was pink-haired girl walking besides the brunette, whom Mayuzumi automatically knew to be Momoi Satsuki, the omega who Seijuurou had been getting jealous over earlier.

The girl had a bright smile on her face as she greeted them and proceeded to take the seat next to the beta, not even bothering to ask if it was okay. Mayuzumi, already used to being around pushy people, just scooted his chair closer to the window, not wanting to sit too close to the omega girl.

Kouki grinned as he took the other's hand in his own. "Sacchan and I were walking down the street and then I saw you from the window. I hope that we're not interrupting anything?" Kouki asked, looking a bit worried as he peeked at the blank-faced beta across the table.

Seijuurou shook his head as he brought up his mate's hand and placed a soft kiss there, loving the pink blush that appeared on the omega's cheeks. "Of course not, love. Why don't you take a seat?" He gestured towards the empty chair next to him.

Kouki smiled widely as he nodded. The alpha pulled out the chair for him, making Kouki blush even more. As the omega was about to sit, he paused when he noticed something.

"Isn't that Mushoku Tensei?" Kouki pointed out, staring at the book sticking out of Mayuzumi's bag.

Mayuzumi blinked once before raising his eyebrow at the omega. "It is. Have you read it before?"

Kouki nodded shyly, taking his seat as he said, "I've only read a few of the novels. It's good but the main character is a bit...ah, too explicit-minded for me to really enjoy the series."

The older beta had a small smirk playing on his lips. "You mean he's a pervert." He corrected.

"Yeah." Kouki nodded, his face a flushed pink. "I can't stand it. And it's not just the way he treats the girls, but the girls themselves are so....they just sit there and are totally fine with him eyeing them, groping them and even stealing their underwear! Stories like that aren't really for me. I prefer other light novels."

Mayuzumi now looked semi-interested as he looked at the brunette. "You read light novels too?"

Kouki smiled as he nodded his head enthusiastically (he always loved discussing literature with a fellow reader). "I'm a huge book otaku. I love reading light novels, classic novels, foreign literature (though it has to be translated in either japanese and I can even read a bit of english for me to understand it) manga, fanfiction...as long as it has a story, I'll definitely read it!" He told the other excitedly.

Mayuzumi nodded in complete agreement with the omega. "What's your favorite light novel?" He looked completely interested as he leaned forward a bit, focused on the male omega.

At the corner of his eye, he noticed Seijuurou stiffening.

Mayuzumi mentally smirked as he made sure to lean forward a bit further, placing his elbow on the table this time and he gave off a slight interested scent.

He really wasn't the least interested in the brunette that way, and a person could tell the difference between a fake scent compared to a true one, but Mayuzumi couldn't help but want to mess with the alpha a bit.

Call it a bit of petty payback for always having to deal with the heir on a routine basis.

He could tell that the pink girl beside him was softly giggling, obviously catching on to what he was up to.

"I've been obsessed with HakoMari right now. Kuroko recommended it to me and I just binge-read all the volumes." The omega admitted bashfully, completely oblivious to what was going on. "I haven't read the last volume yet because I just don't want the story to end! But I really want to know what will happen with the last of the boxes and with O and if Kazuki and Maria will get married to each other."

"I completely understand." Mayuzumi said, remembering how he would reread that series every once in a while. "I did the same thing with the last volume of the Monogatari and Zaregoto Series. The novel I'm into now is Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru."

The brunette's eyes lit up at that. "Ah! I know that one- I'm waiting for the new volume to come out. So you like it too, Mayuzumi-kun? Actually, now that I think of it, you do sort of remind me of the main character."

One of the corners of Mayuzumi's lips lifted slightly, showing a slight smile that was actually genuine towards the omega. "Yeah, I guess I can relate to Hikigaya. So have you read the latest volume of No Game No Life?"

As the two began discussing more light novels, Seijuurou and Momoi exchanged looks with one another, the pinkhead not quite able to hide her smile as she looked at an irritated Seijuurou.

"Akashi-kun, we've been forgotten haven't we?" Momoi sighed, a bit annoyed herself since she couldn't join into their conversation since she never read any light novels before- she preferred to read magazines, sports books and sometimes some shoujo and shounen manga.

"It seems so." Seijuurou replied, narrowing his eyes at the two who was animatedly conversing with one another. Seeing his bond mate smiling at his senpai was alarming for him- especially since he could smell the pheromones the beta was giving off (deep down, he knew that the interest was fake and that his senpai was probably teasing him....but it still didn't stop him from wanting to grab his mate and carry him far away from this place).

Chuckling at something the omega said, Mayuzumi leaned back in his chair and sent a side glance at Seijuurou. When the omega's attention was directed towards a text that was sent to his phone, the beta quietly whispered loud enough so only his kouhai (plus the pink girl) could hear, "Hey Akashi, if things don't work out between Furihata and you, I'll gladly take him from you." Mayuzumi gave him a smirk.

Seijuurou didn't give the other the satisfaction of showing any more of the annoyance/upset he was feeling but there was a definite crack that was heard around the table.

Kouki looked up from his phone in alarm. "Did you guys heard something just now?" He looked at his mate worriedly.

Seijuurou pasted on a wide smile on his face as he shook his head and gently assured his mate that it was probably nothing. "Here, Kouki. Would you like to try some?" Making a gesture towards his food. As he said this, he discreetly placed his now-broken phone that had been in his other hand into his pocket.

Kouki nodded his head, noting that the food looked really good. Taking the small rice bowl and the chopsticks that Seijuurou handed him, Kouki tried some of the tofu and vegetables.

"Mmm! This is so yummy!" Kouki gushed, taking a piece of broccoli and eating it together with some rice.

Seijuurou's earlier bad mood completely evaporated, now happily watching his boyfriend enjoying the food. Grabbing his own chopsticks, Seijuurou picked a piece of the dragon chicken and held it up lovingly towards the omega. "Try some of this Kouki. But be careful- it's a tad spicy." He smiled as he gently fed the other the small morsel.

Chewing on the chicken, Kouki beamed at Seijuurou. "The spice is just right- oh! There's a bit of sweetness in here." He commented.

As the two continued to feed each other (Kouki insisted that the alpha enjoy his meal as well) Mayuzumi continued to look on at them.

The beta was pretty sure that the two lovebirds completely forgot about everyone around them, too caught up in their own little bubble.

The beta also noted that they were wearing similar clothing- a simple tee with a jacket, although Akashi was wearing an orange sports hoodie while Kouki wore a light green rain jacket.

Something silver caught his eye and it wasn't the silver watch that Seijuurou was wearing.

Mayuzumi stared at the simple silver ring that was on the fourth finger of the omega's left hand.

Huh.

But Mayuzumi knew that if he were to comment on it, he would most likely end up having to hear some sappy, love story from the two.

No thank you.

So he quickly moved on from the ring and now focused his attention back on his own food, eating the rest of it quickly so he could finally leave and go home (since the omega was here, Seijuurou would be fine with letting him leave).

Just as he sipped the last of his drink, he heard a sigh to his left. He had almost forgotten that the pink-haired girl was still there.

"I'm so jealous of them." Momoi pouted, crossing her arms on the table and laying her chin down on it.

Mayuzumi raised an eyebrow at that as he glanced at the couple once more.

The brunette giggled as the redhead dabbed a small spot of sauce on his cheek with a napkin.

Mayuzumi looked back at the pink girl. "Why?" Was all he could ask. Looking at the two made him feel no jealously whatsoever- all he felt was disturbed and a bit ill actually.

Momoi sighed again, her gaze still on them. "I wish I had a love like that. I mean, even just half of what they have would be enough for me." She replied.

Mayuzumi blinked as he looked at the girl, carefully this time.

She was very pretty- even Mayuzumi could tell that the girl's looks were above average with her clear white skin, curvy figure with a generous bust, and her very unique, long pink colored hair. But it was the girl's equally pink eyes that caught his attention.

Mayuzumi could tell that this girl wasn't as dumb as what her first impression gave off. He could clearly see the intelligence there and he now understood how somehow like her could be the manager of her middle and high school boys basketball teams.

And anyone who could handle being around the miracle freaks on a daily basis definitely earned his respect (dealing with one miracle was annoying enough).

"You break up with someone?" Mayuzumi guessed, noticing the regretful, longing smile on her face, before mentally berating himself for asking. He really didn't want to hear the girl's long sob story and definitely didn't want to deal with her crying if the breakup brought her bad memories.

But thankfully, Momoi didn't cry or do any of that stuff. She simply turned to give him a sad smile before shrugging her shoulder. "We weren't dating. It was just me who loved him, even though I knew he wouldn't love me back." Was all she said before turning back and watching the idiot couple once more.

Mayuzumi didn't know why, but seeing the girl moping around like that made him feel the most irritated he had felt that day. Sighing loudly, the beta opened his mouth to comment. "Well that's dumb of you."

Momoi chuckled humorlessly as she looked back at him. "I know."

"But...I suppose loving someone unconditionally, while knowing that the person can never be yours, is something that not everyone can do." Mayuzumi conceded.

"It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, but what is the most painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let the person know how you feel. So...I'm okay with how things ended. I mean, a clear rejection is always better than a fake promise, right?" The girl pointed out.

Mayuzumi smiled slightly as he shrugged. "I guess. Sounds to me that to whoever your crush was, you were only a chapter to them. But for you, they were the book."

Momoi smiled wider, looking much more brighter. "That's clever. Did you think of that yourself?"

The beta smirked. "Nope. Light novel."

The pink-haired girl laughed. "It's still a nice saying. What kind of light novel was it? Maybe I'll read it."

Mayuzumi looked at her, surprised. "You read light novels?"

"Nope. Not even once." Momoi grinned when the other snorted at her reply.

"You sad, pitiful girl." Mayuzumi told her, actually sounding truly sorry for her. He pitied her more now than he did when he heard about her one-sided love.

The pink-haired omega laughed loudly at his reply. Still giggling, Momoi scooted her chair back and stood up, straightening the white jacket she wore. "Ne, Mayuzumi-kun. Wanna go to a bookstore? I'm kinda interested in reading a light novel now and I would like your opinion on which story would be good." She asked him.

Mayuzumi looked thoughtful, unsure whether he should go or not. Even though he found the girl on the 2% of people that he didn't find automatically irritating (yet) that didn't mean that he wanted to spend more time around her or anyone else. He just really wanted to go home and be alone for the rest of the day.

Seeing the other's indecision, Momoi added, "Pretty please, Mayuzumi-kun? I'll buy a novel for you if you want." Leaning in close to the other, the omega quietly whispered, "And it would be a good excuse for us to leave these two to themselves. Don't you agree?"

Mayuzumi's eyes widened at that as he looked at what the couple was doing now.

Kouki was practically on the other's lap at this point, both of them engaged in light kisses and exchanging 'sex-eyes' at each other.

Yeah, he's definitely not staying any longer.

"Yo, Akashi. Me and Momoi are leaving." Mayuzumi announced, getting up from his seat.

The couple pulled away from each other and looked at them in surprise. "Both of you are?" Kouki was the one to ask.

Momoi smiled at him as she gathered her purse. "Mayuzumi-kun agreed to take me to the bookstore so he could help me pick out some light novels for me." She explained.

Seijuurou looked even more surprised at this as he raised his eyebrows at the silver-haired beta. "You've agreed to accompany her, senpai?"

Mayuzumi gave him one of his best deadpanned looks. "Stop calling me senpai and I'm only doing it cause she bribed me with buying me one novel of my choosing."

The redhead chuckled at that, leaning back in his chair as he wrapped his arm around his bond mate. "I've actually noticed this for a while now, but it seems that you are quite....easily convincible as long as you are given the right incentive, senpai."

Mayuzumi couldn't help but snort at the observation, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I've noticed. And I truly hate that about myself."

Seijuurou smiled gently at him. "So, senpai. Shall I see you again in two weeks?"

If Mayuzumi was truthfully honestly with himself....deep down inside, he actually enjoyed their strange meetings.

As much as he still yearned for a much less troublesome life, he found that his interactions with the redhead were quite intriguing and at most times, amusing to him.

He was one of the few people who could witness the Akashi Seijuurou become insecure, lose control of his emotions and could actually give the heir his own advise or comments and know that the alpha would actually listen to him. His opinions were actually worth something to the heir.

It made Mayuzumi feel quite superior. And that was a feeling he liked a lot.

So yes, Mayuzumi really didn't mind the redhead visiting him every two weeks at his cafe. He didn't mind that his manager let him have a break in order to accompany the heir to a restaurant. And he even didn't mind that he usually had to listen to the redhead's whines and moans and needed to give the other his advise on whatever the crisis was for that day.

But there was no freaking way he'd ever admit that to the redheaded alpha.

He'd rather go to University of Tokyo than do that.

So Mayuzumi made sure to give his former captain the best bored with a touch of annoyance look that he could muster up.

"Whatever. It's not like I can stop you since you'll just come anyway, whether I tell you to or not." Mayuzumi replied as he walked towards the exit.

Oh well. A normal and mediocre life was overrated anyway.


	18. Chapter 18

## A Sharing Of Green Tea Candy

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

**Murasakibara was the GOM member that Kouki got along with the most (Besides Kuroko)...**

Kouki was humming softly as he walked down the sidewalk, a bag of groceries in his hand as he made his way home.

Deciding to take a shortcut through the park, Kouki jumped over one of the gates, checking to see if the coast was clear before he continued to trek on down the walkway.

As he walked past the playground, he noticed a small group of kids whispering among themselves, pointing at something on one of the benches. Curious, Kouki looked at what was causing a fuss with the kids and his eyes bugged out as he recognized the quite large figure that was hunched over, an air of depression surrounding them.

Shooing away the rude kids- he had overheard them say that they were gonna poke the person with a stick to see if they were still breathing- the brunette made his way towards the familiar guy and sat on the bench next to them.

"Um, M-Murasakibara-kun? Is s-something bothering you?" Kouki asked, hesitantly. The person sitting dejectedly on the bench was Yosen's Murasakibara Atsushi, also member of the generation of miracles and an alpha. The omega was actually quite intimidated with the purple haired giant (like most people) but he couldn't help but worry about the depressive state of the guy.

Murasakibara gave him a side look, still looking sad, but his mouth opened as he spoke, "Eh? Oh. You're Aka-chin's mate right? You really do look like a chihuahua." He said, recognizing him.

Kouki pouted, slightly at the comment. "Please don't call me a c-chihuahua- I really find it embarrassing. My name is F-Furihata Kouki."

"Okay." Murasakibara merely said before he return his gaze down at his lap once more. Kouki could practically smell the depression in the other's scent. Surprisingly, the alpha's scent didn't have a food smell- instead, he smelled like the ocean and fresh cut grass. It was refreshing.

Biting his lip, Kouki decided to press on. "So, can I ask why you look so down? Did something really b-bother you?" He asked again. "And a-aren't you supposed to be in Akita? Why are you i-in Tokyo?"

Murasakibara sighed. "We have a practice match with Shuutoku tomorrow. I didn't wanna come but Muro-chin and Coach told me I had to. We came today so we could rest before the match tomorrow. But I lost my bag of snacks on the train and Muro-chin won't buy me anymore until we go back to Akita. He even took my wallet so I couldn't buy any too. I got mad so I ran away."

Kouki sweatdropped at that. "Y-You ran away from your team?" Maybe Kouki got the wrong impression about the guy. Was the scary giant alpha actually just a small kid in a big body?

Looking at the forlorn expression on the purple giant's face, the omega couldn't help but feel sorry for him. When the guy looked like this, he didn't look very intimidating at all. "Ne, Murasakibara? Can you hold out your hand for a sec?" The giant did what was told and Kouki reached into his pocket and grabbed what he was looking for. He then gently placed it in the purple's giant's palm. "Here you go."

Murasakibara looked down at his hand and his eyes widened when he saw a single brown candy there. "A-re~?"

Kouki coughed, feeling a bit embarrassed at the stars the suddenly shone in the other man's eyes. "Um, I usually have candy somewhere on me. So I hope this will cheer you up." He explained, feeling a bit awkward.

Murasakibara already started sucking on the candy, making happy noises as he said, "This is really yummy! What is this?"

Kouki smiled as he replied, "It's Kasugai Matcha Ame Green Tea Candy. Green tea is my favorite flavor but I also like the plum flavor. And when it's the gummy kind, I like the peach and lychee favors." Kouki knew he was probably ranting, but he really did like sweets a lot.

The alpha before him was now staring at him with eyes that were uncharacteristically interested in what he was saying. "They all sound yummy. Do you like candy a lot?"

Kouki nodded. "I always sneak candy in my mouth when there's a lecture at school- the sweetness would help me stay awake during the lesson. But when the candy melts away, I would usually pop in another before I fall asleep and at the end I realize that I ate about half my bag of candies for the day." He laughed.

Murasakibara nodded in understanding. "I agree. I do the same too but I would also eat other snacks as well. Do you like snacks too?"

Kouki grinned as he said, "I LOVE snacks! Especially chips. I love any type of chips whether it's corn or potato. And I love all the different flavors- the usual flavors like cheese or sour cream and onion or the more unusual ones like wasabi and nori or seafood tempura salad. I don't really like barbecue flavor though- it just doesn't mesh well with me."

"Ooh~ I love chips too!" Murasakibara nodded his head furiously, his eyes now sparkling like crazy. "I like the seafood tempura salad flavor too! Others say that the bright green color is yucky-looking but I think it looks yummy."

Kouki hummed in agreement, "Yeah, my friends look at me weird when I eat them but they haven't even tried it so how would they know? People shouldn't judged foods before they try it! Like have you tried the wasabi kit kat? You would think that it would taste bad but they're actually really delicious!"

Murasakibara agreed. "Right? I've tried pretty much tried all the different kit kats like the purple sweet potato, rum raisin, pancake, momiji manju, premium mint, adult bittersweet, red bean, baked butter cookie kit kats...."

Kouki groaned as he held his stomach- their talk was making him hungry. "I love kit kats! Especially the pumpkin pudding and the melon mascarpone ones!"

Murasakibara gasped. "I've never heard of Melon mascarpone flavor before!"

The brunette nodded as he explained. "My nii-san got some from one of his friends- they're only sold in Hokkaido."

The alpha moaned loudly. "I wanna try them~"

Kouki grinned as he added. "I also had some strawberry cheesecake flavor when I went to Mt Fuji last summer." He sighed. "Ahh...but you know what's really yummy? I love the old-fashioned Japanese snacks that they would make before. Like maiubo!"

The look Murasakibara gave Kouki was like a monk seeing Buddha in real life. "You like maiubo? Which flavor?"

Kouki snorted as he answered, "I don't think there's any flavor I DON'T like! I mean, I always buy the chicken curry, spicy cod roe and teriyaki burger ones. But I do like the corn potage and natto too."

Muraskibara was drooling so much that Kouki had to give the alpha his handerkerchief to wipe it up. "I love the natto maiubo! Most people don't like it because of the strong smell and the slimy texture-"

"-But that's what makes it so awesome! It's like your eating natto itself!" Kouki interrupted. Murasakibara grinned, glad to finally find someone who understood him.

"Have you tried the kiritanpo maiubo? They're exclusive only in Akita- I can bring some for you the next time I come to Tokyo." Murasskibara offered. And what Kouki didn't know was that the alpha NEVER offered to give his snacks to anyone- meaning that Kouki had obviously become someone special to the giant.

Kouki grinned as he nodded. "I would like that, Murasakibara-kun! In return, do you want to come to my house? I'm making hayashi rice for lunch and I also have two boxes of chocolate maiubo that we can have for dessert." He told him.

Murasakibara's jaw dropped. "You have chocolate maiubo? But that flavor's only sold during winter!"

Kouki looked smug. "Yup. They're only sold in winter because the outer chocolate on the stick melts easily. But I know a person who can get them year round and they always give me some- I just store them in the freezer and I find that it tastes even better that way! I also get other rare flavors from him too- like brown sugar, pork kimchi and monja!"

The purple-haired alpha was already on his feet and helping Kouki up as well. "Hurry, Furi-chin! Let's go to your house now!"

Kouki chuckled as he stood up and the led way to his house. During their walk, Murasakibara offered to carry Kouki's bags, which the omega thanked him for.

Later on, as they both ate their chocolate maiubo's (Kouki had called Himuro, assuring the other that Murasakibara was doing fine and he would dropped the giant off with his nii-san later that evening), Murasakibara moaned in bliss as he bit into the frozen treat as he told Kouki, "Furi-chin, if you break up with Aka-chin can you be my mate instead?"

Kouki merely giggled at what he considered as a joke and nodded. "Okay, Murasakibara-kun. Whatever you say."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

  
**Midorima was the GOM member that Kouki could surprisingly get along with...**

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Kouki cried, trying to gather the candies that fell out of his basket. He was currently in the supermarket, refilling his candy stock that he anyways kept in case of emergencies.

"No need to apologize- I also didn't watch where I was going." A deep voice spoke, offering his hand to help Kouki up. The smell of beta assaulted Kouki's senses and he smelled citrus and clean laundry in the other person's scent.

Seeing the hand, Kouki took it and looked up as he said, "Ah, thank you-eh?" The omega jumped as he got a good look at the person who he had bumped into. The glasses and green hair were a dead giveaway.

"Ah, you're Seirin's point guard and Akashi's bond mate." Shuutoku's Midorima Shintarou, beta, commented as he gave the brunette an once over. "What's your horoscope sign?"

"Yes! I'm Furihata Kouki- it's n-nice to meet you Midorima-san!" Kouki greeted, frantically bowing to the green-haired man. He mentally congratulated himself on not stuttering too badly (Seijuurou and his therapist has been helping him on that). "I'm a Scorpio."

Midorima merely stayed quiet and Kouki winced as he could basically hear the other's thoughts- the foremost being why would Akashi choose him as his mate?

Kouki wasn't hurt by this- he was already used to it. There were people who even asked outright why someone like Akashi would date someone like Kouki. What bothered him though was that some of those people would assume that Akashi was only interested in him because he was a rare male omega. He knew that it wasn't true, but it still hurt to think about how shallow people thought his mate was.

Midorima finally spoke up, "Furihata, I don't want to be rude but may I can you something?" He asked, looking at Kouki intensely. Kouki flinched at the stare but nodded, mentally sighing. He guessed that Midorima was one of those people to ask outright then.

"I've been curious ever since Akashi had informed us about his bonding with you. Furihata, exactly what do you see in Akashi that made you want to bond with him?" Midorima questioned, looking at Kouki with slight confusion in his expression.

Kouki blinked at that. Huh. That's new.

"Wait, you're wondering why I would want to bond with Sei?" Kouki asked slowly, wondering if he had heard the beta wrong.

Midorima nodded, pushing up his glasses when it slid a bit. "Yes. I've known Akashi for many years now and even though he's tolerable as a friendly companion, I know how he is. He can be very overbearing, strict and downright selfish. Also, I'm sure you're aware of his mental illness. Even though the second Akashi is gone, the original is still similar to the guy you met at your first meeting- and I was aware on how Akashi had affected you then." There was a slight pause but Kouki kept quiet since he knew that Midorima was done speaking.

"But this is not saying that Akashi isn't undesirable by others. There are many other people who would throw themselves at him because of his looks, his family name and most importantly, his money. There is plenty to gain when being with an Akashi. But I highly doubt you care about those things. So I'm just wondering what about Akashi attracted you to him, if not for the money or power?" Midorima leaned back, waiting for the brunette's answer.

"I'm not really sure." Kouki shrugged when he saw Midorima's eyes narrow at him. "I truly don't know what exact thing about him attracted me to him. It sounds lame to say that I liked everything about Sei, but it's really true. Everything about him attracted me. When I first met him, I was scared beyond belief. It definitely wasn't love at first sight alright...

"But when I got to know him more and more, I just felt like I wanted to know more. To be with him more. To see more of what lied underneath the whole Akashi persona that everyone else saw. What is the real, original Seijuurou really like? The reason I wanted to be bonded with Sei is not just because I love him- which I really, really do- but also because if I became his mate, it would give me more opportunities to get to discover more about him, get more closer to him in a way that no one else would ever be able to. You said that Sei is very selfish, but I think it's okay because I'm very selfish over him too."

Kouki bowed down low to Midorima. "I'm sorry, Midorima-san. I'm not sure if I gave you the answer you wanted to hear, but it's the only answer I have."

Kouki straightened up when he heard a sigh. Looking up, Midorima looked at him with what could have been a neutral almost bored expression, but some reason Kouki felt like the green-haired shooter was smiling at him. "Stop apologizing. I suppose your answer was decent enough." The beta cleared his throat before adding, "And stop calling me Midorima-san. Using -kun will do just fine."

Kouki grinned as he felt like he had just passed a test. "Okay, Midorima-kun."

Midorima adverts his eyes to the side for a minute before looking back at Kouki. "I've told you that I've known Akashi for a long time. He may be my closest companion and I've known him better than most out there. Now that I know your true feelings for him, I'm sure there's no need for me to remind you about the consequences should you do anything....unsavory to Akashi." Midorima told him sternly.

Kouki gulped. He was pretty sure he was being given the 'hurt my friend, and I'll hurt you' talk right now. "Yes, I promise I will never intentionally hurt him in any way." Kouki vowed.

Before Midorima could say more, one of the store's employees came by and interrupted them. "I'm sorry sir, but we ran out of the green tea candy that you were looking for- someone else had already taken the last one we had. The new stock won't come in until next week. My apologies again." The employee bowed to Midorima before scurrying away.

Kouki looked up to see the disappointed and irritated look on Midorima's face. "Um, was that candy really important to you, Midorima-kun?" He asked.

Midorima sighed. "Today's Oha Asa says that cancer's lucky item for today was green tea candy. I suppose I will have to go to another store now."

The omega look up at him with wide eyes. "Oha Asa? Isn't that the fortune telling program with the horoscopes?"

Midorima nodded. "Yes."

Kouki looked thoughtful. "I used to watch that sometimes in middle school. I sort of went through a fortune telling, magic tricks phase. I still have my tarot cards at home and I still like fortunes though. I use them often with Reo-nee." Kouki mused. He dug into his basket and pulled something out, handing it to Midorima. "Here, if it'll give you luck then you can have these."

Midorima's eyes widened as he looked down at the small bag containing green tea candies. Hesitating, he tried to hand it back to Kouki, who just shook his head. "It's fine. I already have other candies here so I can afford to give up one bag." Kouki gestured towards his basket.

Midorima blinked at all the candies in the omega's basket. "Don't tell me you plan on consuming all of that."

Kouki blushed as he shook his head. "No. Only half- me and my brother like to eat candy a lot. But I mainly eat them during class in order to stay awake." He confessed, scratching his cheek sheepishly.

Midorima raised an eyebrow at him. "And your teeth is still intact?"

Kouki pouted. "I always brush my teeth! And I've only had like, two cavities in my entire life." Kouki defended. "And I drink a lot of water and I actually have a low blood sugar."

Midorima looked back at the candies in his hand and held them tighter. "Then I'll take these. Thank you, Furihata." He bowed stiffly to Kouki.

Kouki beamed as he nodded. "It's no problem!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

  
**Aomine was the GOM member that Kouki was still intimidated by, but was okay with...**

"Yo! Seirin's chihuahua!" Kouki jumped as he turned to see Touou's Aomine Daiki, alpha, running towards him. Kouki's nose twitched at the smell of coconuts and a burning fireplace in the alpha's scent- Kouki didn't really like coconuts and the fact that the dark-skinned male obviously didn't shower after playing basketball (if the basketball in his hands was any indication) the combination almost made Kouki gag.

"Ah, hello." Kouki greeted, bowing slightly to the other man. "Please don't call me chihuahua. Um, are you going home too?" Since Kouki was on his way home, he wondered if the other alpha lived nearby.

"Nah, my house is in the opposite direction. I'm heading to Ryou's house to do our group project for japanese class. Usually I'd skip but Satsuki threatened to cut up all my Mai photobooks if I don't go." Aomine grumbled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, I'm h-heading home- my house is in this d-direction as well." Kouki stuttered a bit, pulling his school bag tighter to himself, forcing himself to calm down. Out of all the miracles, Aomine was the one that intimidated Kouki the most and he really didn't want to have an anxiety attack in front of the alpha.

Aomine frowned at him as he spinned his basketball on his finger. "Hey, I heard from Akashi that you two are bonded. At first I didn't believe it, but I can totally smell him on you." The alpha said, leaning close to Kouki and taking a deep sniff.

Kouki blushed and shied away from the other. "Um..."

Aomine moved away with a sheepish look on his face. "Ah, sorry about that. Well, Akashi told us- the miracles- that you guys were bonded but he didn't say much else. I know it's none of my business and I won't ask how you even got the guts to look at Akashi, let alone sleep with the guy." Kouki blushed a cherry red at that. "But I gotta ask this- Akashi didn't hypnotize you or something right? He didn't blackmail you, did he?"

Kouki looked at the other with wide eyes but he could tell that the other had no ill intentions in his questions- he looked honestly curious about it. Kouki shook his head and he answered, "No. Sei wouldn't do that. I really love Sei and I know he loves me." Even though his answer sounded like one a elementary school kid would give, he knew that it was good enough for Aomine.

The dark-skinned alpha nodded his head. "Okay. Just to let you know, I'm fine with the both of you dating. Satsuki was so freaking happy she kept hounding Akashi for details- not sure if she managed to get anything out of him though. Anyway, Akashi is like a different person whenever he talks about you. He smiles more- it's kinda creepy actually." Aomine shook his head. Suddenly a growl was heard and Aomine groaned as he held his stomach. "Damn, I'm starving. I hope Ryou has food at his house."

"Ah, wait." Kouki reached into his bag and took something out. "Here, hopefully this will tide you over by the time you get to his house." He handed Aomine a piece of green tea candy.

Akmine brightened up and he automatically unwrapped the treat and popped it in his mouth. "Mm...not bad. Thanks, Furihata. Anyway, I'm making a left here- I guess I'll see you when I see you." He waved his hand at the omega and he turned away, dribbling his basketball as he happily sucked on his candy.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

  
**Kise was the GOM member that Kouki learned to avoid in the future...**

"Oh! You're Akashiichi's mate! Why aren't you wearing your basketball clothes? Are you not playing?" Kaijou's Kise Ryouta, beta, asked while smiling brightly at the brunette as he sat beside him on the stands. The blonde had noticed that Kouki was wearing his school uniform, not his basketball clothes.

Seirin and Kaijiou were having a practice match together that day. They were currently at Kaijiou, in the gym. The teams were still warming up but the match would start soon.

Kouki gave a nervous smile at the other- this was the first time that the two would actually converse with one another. "Hello Kise-kun. No, I won't be playing today- I started to feel sick on the ride here. Coach took my temperature earlier and said that I have a fever. I really wanted to watch the match though so Coach said that as long as I sit here and not play, then I can stay." He explained.

Kise looked worried as he placed his hand on the other's forehead. Kouki could smell the other's scent of cocoa butter and sunshine. "Oh! You are burning." He frowned as he took away his hand. "Do you want to visit the school's infirmary?"

Kouki shook his head, giving the blonde a small smile. "No thank you. I'll be fine just as long as I stay here."

The beta sighed as he leaned back on his hands, looking up. "I hate being sick. I always feel so gross and icky." He shuddered.

Kouki chuckled as he shrugged. "I don't feel too bad right now- just a bit weak and dizzy when I move too fast." He admitted. "Anyway, shouldn't you be warming up, Kise-kun?"

Kise shook his head as he explained, "My foot is still healing so I have to play lightly today. Coach is putting me in the second half but I'm only allowed to play for a few minutes. It's so boring!" He whined.

Kouki smiled at the other in sympathy. "It's for the best that you wait until your foot is completely well. I've heard other's who tried to play with their injuries and ended up making it worse."

Kise sighed again. "Yeah I know." Kise looked towards Kouki as he gave the other a sly look. "Anyway, enough about me. What about you? Ever since Akashiichi told us about his bond to you, I've always wanted to get to know you better, Furihatacchi!"

The omega furrowed his eyebrows. "Furihatacchi?"

Kise beamed at him. "It's my nickname for you from now on. I only give nicknames to people I respect!"

Kouki blushed at that. "But why do you respect me? I haven't done anything special or anything."

The blonde shook his head in disagreement. "That's not true. You're the one Akashiichi chose to bond with! That makes you plenty special! And I respect anyone who can make Akashiichi smile so brightly. I've never seen it before! Akashiichi's always happy whenever he talks about you. Its so cute!" He squealed.

Kouki could feel his face heat up even more. "Ah, thank you for the nickname then."

Kise gave Kouki a gentle smile. "No, thank you for making Akashiichi so happy! It's nice to see him like that. And you're very adorable too- I completely understand why Akashiichi is attracted to you." He winked at the omega.

Kouki blushed even harder before letting out a yawn. When Kise asked if he was feeling sleepy, Kouki told him he was a little and went to grab a candy from his bag. Candy always helped him stay awake and Kouki really wanted to watch the practice match.

Sucking on a piece of green tea candy, Kise asked Kouki how he and Seijuurou first started dating. Kouki gave the beta a summarized version of the story (the match had already started a few minutes ago) and Kise cooed and aww'd as he listened to their love story.

At the end of the story, the blonde squealed as he quickly grabbed Kouki and brought him into a big bear hug. "Furihatacchi, that was so cute and sweet! Awwww....!"

Kouki, not expecting the hug, gasped as soon as the other hugged him. Unfortunately, Kouki was still sucking on his candy and the shock from the sudden hug made the big ball of candy go down into Kouki's windpipe.

Kise froze in his squealing when he felt the other start to hit him in the shoulder and back. Frowning, Kise pulled away and his eyes widened at how blue the other's face was getting.

"Furihatacchi, are you okay? What's wrong?" Kise asked worriedly, watching the other gesturing madly as he made weird noises. "Are you feeling more sick? Do you want to see the school nurse?"

Kouki shook his head as he made choking noises, putting his hands up to his neck. When Kise saw the gesture, he instantly figured out what was wrong. "Oh god, you're choking!!!" Kise screamed, pushing Kouki down on his back as he stood over him. "Don't worry, Furihatacchi- I know exactly what to do!"

Kouki was panicking even more when suddenly he felt the blonde's lips ontop his own, blowing air at him. Why the hell was Kise doing?!

Suddenly, Kise lifted his lips and started pumping in Kouki's chest, making Kouki feel worst.

Kouki was beginning to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen as he heard shouts coming from the others. His mind could only process a little of what was being said- "What the hell is going on?" "Why does Furi look so blue?" "Why are you kissing our Furihata?! He's mated, you know!" "Baka! You don't give a choking person CPR!" "Everyone shut up and get out of the way!"

Suddenly Kouki felt two thin arms around his waist, feeling something push against his stomach and chest. Kouki then felt a pressure be applied to his chest over and over and finally, Kouki was able to coughed up the candy that had been stuck in his throat.

Coughing harshly, Kouki pushed himself away from the person who had given him the Heimlich maneuver (later on, he found out it was Coach Aida Riko who had saved him) and immediately lost his lunch on the gym floor.

Everyone went in complete chaos. The omega's fever also didn't help the situation. His head was pounding, his throat ached and the room was spinning. He could hear shouts in the air and felt people rubbing his back and someone speaking gently as Kouki continued to heave (he found out that it was Fukuda and Kuroko who were comforting him).

When he could vomit no more, Kouki lost consciousness as his body started to collapse. The last thing he remembered was Fukuda and Kuroko both catching him before he landed in the pool of his own vomit.

When Kouki had awaken later that evening, he found himself in a hospital bed, connected to an IV and a pounding headache. And on his bedside was his beloved alpha yelling at a crying Kise who was begging for forgiveness.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

  
**SPECIAL EXTRA- KUROKO'S GIFT ٩(˃̶͈̀௰˂̶͈́)૭**

Kuroko Tetsuya, beta, had a special gift that no one was aware of than his family.

He could see Soulmates.

How it worked was when two people destined to be together were near each other, Kuroko could just 'tell' that they were soul mates. It was kinda like the red string of fate but without the actual string. Some people whom he had this feeling with was his own parents, with Coach Riko and his captain Hyuuga, and with Midorima and Takao.

And his latest victims were Akashi Seijuurou and Furihata Kouki.

From their first meeting on the stairs, Kuroko already knew that those two were meant to be together. He was a bit surprised by the revelation, but he's met equally stranger pairs in the past (like a certain silver-haired male with his old middle school captain).

Contrary to what other people thought, Kuroko never doubted how well-matched the brunette and redhead were for one another- not even counting their soulmate connection. Kuroko knew Akashi very well since middle school and Kuroko was close with Furihata due to the basketball team and the library committee that they were both part of. The blue-haired beta knew that Akashi would give Furihata the confidence and courage that the other lacked in while Furihata would give Akashi the kindness and care that the redhead desperately needed. And Kuroko also knew that these two were not as opposite as others would assume- they were quite similar in many ways.

Anyway, Kuroko never liked to interfere with any of the soulmated couples- he truly believed that fate knew what it was doing and just left it up to that. Things will happen when it happens.

But at his birthday party, he noticed how tense Furihata was around Akashi. So he secretly arranged the seating that forced the brunette to sit by his old captain and he might have even stealthily managed to bump into Furihata without anyone noticing and made him spill his drink (he didn't like to interfere, but it never hurt to give a little 'push' when necessary). And it worked out in the end since the blunette saw how close the pair had gotten when they exited the bathroom together. It was only a matter of time now.

For the whole week after the party, Kuroko would listen to Furihata pretty much gush about Akashi while they were in the library for their committee duties. As they put away the books, Kuroko would sometimes give Furihata subtle hints about texting or calling the alpha or maybe even paying the other a visit- what harm would it be? Furihata ended up going through with his suggestions and soon enough, Kuroko was one of the first to hear about the couple finally getting together (Kuroko wondered if he acted surprised enough when Furihata told him the news, but in the end he decided it didn't really matter).

Maybe Kuroko interfered just a bit in Akashi and Furihata's relationship, but really the couple had needed his help badly. But since they were together, Kuroko could now just fondly watch them from afar as their relationship progressed even more- but he did still give Furihata and sometimes even Akashi some advice when they needed it. His work was never truly done after all.

And if you wonder if Kuroko had ever met his own Soulmate, well, that is a story for another time.


	19. Chapter 19

## A Green Tea Mochi Without You

Mibuchi Reo sighed as he looked at the head of bright red hair that was currently buried in about three different textbooks at the moment.

"Sei-chan, are you sure you don't want to call Kou-chan? Just to see if he made it back to Tokyo alright?" Mibuchi asked again, trying to get a reply from his kouhai and former captain.

After graduating Rakuzan, Mibuchi had been accepted to attend Bunka Fashion College to study in the course of Foundations of Styling and Distribution. He had gone into this school in hopes of becoming a stylist or makeup artist one day, but after only a month into the new school year the beta couldn't help but feel that maybe this wasn't the right career path for him after all.

Feeling unsure about his future, Mibuchi decided to make a visit to his family in Kyoto and also made plans to drop by his former high school and pay a certain redhead a visit. As he walked through the dorm hallway, he heard a loud slam of a door and rushing footsteps coming his way.

Curious, he paused in his walking and turned to the right to see who it could be.

What he saw was a clearly upset Kouki rushing pass him and to the exit.

He had called after the brunette, even tried to catch up to him to find out what was wrong but the omega was too fast and soon enough, Mibuchi had lost him.

Having a guess on what could have upset the brunette, the beta hurriedly barged into where Seijuurou's room was and demanded to know what had happened to upset Kouki.

About half an hour had passed since then and Mibuchi still didn't get anything from the redhead- he was only being ignored as Seijuurou stayed quiet, focusing all his concentration on his studies.

Mibuchi sighed. It was obvious that something had happened between the usual loving couple and it was up to Mama Reo to figure it out and help fix things.

As he opened his mouth to once again attempt to try to pry something out of his captain, the alpha suddenly gasped, clutching a hand to his chest.

Mibuchi gasped as he rushed forwards and placed his hand on the other's back. "Sei-chan! What's wrong? What hurts? Only your chest?" He frantically asked.

"My chest...and I...can't breathe..." Seijuurou panted, looking very pained as he massaged his chest.

"Do you want me to get help? Or do you want to go to the infirmary?" Mibuchi questioned, rubbing the other's back in soothing circles.

Seijuurou shook his head. "No...I'm okay....just let me get my breath back first."

Mibuchi followed his orders, though he was still worried. After a few minutes, Seijuurou managed to settle himself down, taking a deep breath as he leaned his back against his chair.

"Sei-chan, what was that?" Mibuchi asked him softly.

The alpha looked just as confused. "I'm not sure. I just suddenly felt like I was hit by something and suddenly I couldn't breathe."

About fifteen minutes passed as Mibuchi tried to convince his captain to get checked by the school doctor, but the redhead adamantly refused.

Suddenly a ringtone sounded in the air and they both froze. Seijuurou pulled out his phone since the sound and vibrations were coming from his cell and checked the caller.

At the alpha's look, Mibuchi knew that the caller was definitely Kouki.

Sighing at the redhead's hesitance, he quickly snatched the phone and swiped the screen to accept the call.

"Kou-chan! It's Reo-nee~" Mibuchi sang out, sticking his tongue at the infuriated alpha.

The beta then froze when a voice that definitely wasn't from Kouki had replied back. Twisting his face in confusion, Mibuchi checked and confirmed that it was indeed Kouki's phone that was calling.

"Who is this and why do you have Kou-chan's phone?" Mibuchi questioned, sounding suspicious. Seijuurou at this point was no longer glaring and instead was looking very concerned now.

What he heard next from the other line made Mibuchi gasp and sit down with a thud on Seijuurou's bed, the breath knocked out of him as he covered his mouth in horror.

"Reo?" Seijuurou called out, alarmed at the horrified expression on his teammate's face.

But Mibuchi ignored him, only concentrating on what the other person on the phone was saying. Seijuurou watched impatiently as Mibuchi faced the ground, making little nods and hums at whatever the other was saying.

When Mibuchi finally thanked the person and hung up the phone, his face still looking down, Seijuurou immediately demanded, "Reo, who was that and why did they have Kouki's phone? What's going on?"

Mibuchi looked up and Seijuurou was caught off guard at seeing tears rolling down the usually cheerful beta's face. "Sei-chan..." Mibuchi said shakily. And his next words made Seijuurou's entire world go straight to hell.

"...Kou-chan's in the hospital."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_His vision was blurred by tears, but he didn't care since all he wanted to do was to just get away._

_'I can't believe him...'_

_Not looking where he was going, he accidentally bumped into someone. But he just continued to run, sobbing as he did so._

_'He is such a jerk...'_

_He didn't know where he was headed but that was fine since he didn't really have a specific destination- he just needed to get away from HIM for a while._

_'Stupid idiot.'_

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Furihata Kouta, is it?" Kouta jumped in his seat and looked up to see a familiar looking gentlemen standing before him.

The brunette squinted his eyes a bit, trying to figure out where he had seen the gentlemen before. Suddenly he gasped. "You're Seijuurou's dad. The head Akashi boss, right?" He pointed to the older man.

Masaomi gave him a small amused look at the name as he gave a nod. "Yes. I am Akashi Masaomi, father to Seijuurou. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Furihata Kouta. You are the elder brother of Kouki-kun. I've been looking forward to us meeting for a while now, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

Kouta smile tightened at that before he let out a long sigh. "Yeah. I wish that too." The older Furihata gestured for the other to take the seat beside him, with Masaomi taking up his offer and sitting right down.

They were both in the Kyoto Hospital's waiting room while waiting for Kouki to come out of surgery. So far, all they knew was that the young omega had suffered from a nasty fall down a long flight of stairs and had to be taken into the OR due to head trauma with internal bleeding.

Furihata Kouta had just came home from a friend's party when he received the call about his little brother. As soon as the call ended, the alpha immediately shoved a few of his clothes and toiletries into his overnight bag and took the very next train heading to Kyoto.

Running down the halls of the hospital, Kouta sighted both Mibuchi and Seijuurou in the waiting room. The older brunette then proceeded to fill up all the needed medical forms for Kouki- since he was the omega's legal guardian. From there, the three stayed together in the room, waiting for more news about Kouki to come.

On the other hand, Akashi Masaomi had been in the middle of an important business transaction with the owner of a multi-billion dollar oil company when he had received news of the incident. Because he was still in the middle of a meeting, the older Akashi wasn't able to leave right away.

But as soon as the meeting ended with the contract signed and notarized, Masaomi ordered his secretary to reschedule his last two meetings for the day (those meetings weren't as important as the oil company had been) before heading directly towards the hospital.

That's when the older Akashi ran into the trio at the waiting room. Well, Kouta and Seijuurou was there- the brunette informed him that Mibuchi was off getting them drinks at the cafeteria.

Masaomi sighed as Kouta proceeded to give him all the information they had learned so far about the incident- which really wasn't too much. They didn't even know the extent of the omega's injuries yet. All they knew was that the omega was in a critical stage and was sent straight to the operating room immediately for surgery. It's been a few hours since then.

"Thank you for informing me, Furihata-san." Masaomi thanked the other.

Kouta shook his head as he waved his hands around. "Ah, just call me Kouta. Furihata-san sounds way too formal. And besides, we're basically family now, right?" He pointed out, giving a small grin.

The older alpha chuckled as he nodded. "I suppose we are. You may call me Masaomi if you would like as well then." A doctor exited the OR at that moment, making the men freeze, but they both sighed as the surgeon headed towards another couple instead. Based on the couple's reactions, apparently the surgery wasn't successful.

"Kouki's always been underestimated, you know?" Kouta suddenly spoke up, making the other turn towards him. Masaomi didn't say anything, instead choosing to listen quietly to the brunette.

"I'm sure you know about my and Kouki's parents, since I'm positive you've checked out our backgrounds as soon as you found out about your son dating my brother." Kouta said matter-of-factedly. Masaomi didn't even bother to deny it- because it was true. But the Akashi head knew that the Furihata brother's pasts were a sensitive subject and knew better than to bring it up. Besides, with both of their parents dead, the past was well off to be forgotten now.

"We've been through so much. And I know that it's because of Kouki being by my side that I'm still here today. I would have never been able to survive without him. Because Kouki was there, I was never alone and he gave me the strength to live on, to thrive for better lives for the both of us. Maybe because of his humble appearance or his shy personality, that's why many people have a low first impression of him, may even look down on him too. But I know how strong my brother really is.

"When push comes to shove, Kouki will fight for what he believes is right, even if it's at the risk of getting himself hurt. Especially for those he cares for- he'd give them his all. When it comes to me, I know that my little brother will gladly give his life for me, no hesitation. He's really crazy that way, but I can't deny that I would do the same for him- in fact, I wish I was there in the operating room right now, not him. Anyway, I was so worried when he was presented as an omega, a male omega of all things you know, but Kouki didn't let that stop him from living his life the way he wanted. He didn't let anyone bother him and always made sure people treated him the same, male omega or not. He has a quiet strength about him and that makes him one of the most strongest people I know.

"So because he's strong, that's why I know that Kouki will come out of this alright. He has no choice to be okay. After everything we've been through, I refuse to let a flight of stairs be the thing to be the end of him. I mean- how stupid is that?! After everything we've suffered and fought for in the past up to now...the gods can't be that cruel right? Kouki...Kouki is a good person. A great person. And he is easily loved by all. So for someone whose as great and lovable as my little brother, of course the gods would let him live on. He has to live." The older brother sounded quieter as his eyes started to get a little misty. Masaomi jumped a little when the brunette slapped his cheeks, leaving a slight red mark on his cheeks before looking back at the older man with a determined look in his eyes, not allowing any depressing thoughts get to him.

"Kouki will be fine." Kouta told me sternly. Masaomi admired the strength and determination in the older Furihata brother- it was similar to the same strength the Akashi head had found in the younger Furihata as well. "He'll be out of surgery just fine and when Kouki wakes up, I'm gonna punch him and shout at him for not watching where he was going." Kouta snorted, "That little brat never watches where he goes- he's always getting lost and tripping on his own two feet. He's really useless at directions too." The alpha chuckled fondly.

Masaomi smiled. "I agree that Kouki-kun will be alright. I am also aware of the deep strength your younger brother has behind that skittish front of his, Kouta-kun." The older alpha then began to tell the other about his first true meeting with the male omega and how Kouki had stood up to him with he had tried to break the couple apart.

Kouta was laughing hard at the part where Kouki had passed out from realizing exactly who he had been yelling at when Mibuchi returned with four cups of hot drinks and a white paper bag of food in hand. "I'm back with our drinks and have gotten us some food too- and I've also gotten something for you as well, Akashi-san. I saw you walking down the hallway earlier and figured you might like some coffee too." The beta told him politely.

"Thank you Mibuchi-kun." Masaomi thanked as he took the offered drink. He took a small sip and was relieved to find the coffee as adequate and with no added sugar or cream to it (just the way he liked it). The Akashi head met the beta a few times when the other came over to visit Seijuurou, and they were cordial towards one another, only exchanging polite greetings at most.

"Ah, thanks Reo." Kouta grinned at the beta, taking his own coffee and doctoring it with copious amounts of sugar and cream.

Masaomi observed as the tall beta blushed a bright pink as he looked down, smiling happily. "Oh, it's nothing Kouta-kun. I'm just happy to help out in some way."

"Just your presence here with us is more than enough, Reo. No need to be modest!" Kouta assured the other, taking a bite of a sandwich wrap.

Mibuchi giggled as he shook his head. "Oh no, it's really not too much. But you're welcome, anyway." The beta took a deep breath before sobering a bit as he turned his attention towards another certain redhead who was sitting silently a few chairs away. "Has anything changed while I was gone?" He asked them.

Kouta looked besides him as well and gave a sad smile, shaking his head. "He hasn't moved even an inch."

Masaomi knew they were talking about Seijuurou. Even as his father, the older alpha was clueless about what to do regarding the state his son was currently in. The Akashi head was still inadequate when it came to dealing with other's feelings, even his own son's, so he wasn't quite sure what to do about the younger boy.

Seijuurou was practically a statue, sitting in a chair one seat away from them, looking down with a dead expression on his face. It was frightening for the older alpha to see his son this way- as if the younger alpha had lost the will to live anymore. If the older alpha could, he would pay anything or use his high connections to make the boy's sadness go away. But the Akashi head knew that the only thing that would bring Seijuuoru back to his normal self was if Kouki was back, safe and healthy with them...and that, was one of the few things that the older Akashi just couldn't pay someone or order someone to do.

Masaomi was frustrated with himself that for once in his life, he didn't know what to do in this situation.

Mibuchi took a seat next to Seijuurou, cooing at the other as he gently rubbed the other's stiff shoulders, in a motherly type of way. "Oh Sei-chan, you need to eat something. Here, I got you some hot tea- you must be thirsty, ne?" The beta urged the other to to take a sip, but to no avail.

Kouta unwrapped one of the sandwiches in the bag and held it out to the redhead as he also encouraged the other to eat something. "Come now, Seijuurou- my brother won't be happy if he finds out that you're starving yourself. Here, this one has tofu in it- it's your favorite, right?" The alpha told the other, gently trying to put it in the frozen redhead's hands.

Masaomi watched as the two tried to talk to his unresponsive son, a deep frown on his own face. He looked towards the closed doors that led to the surgery room and gave a rare prayer of his own.

The Akashi head was not one to be very religious, but he prayed that Furihata Kouki would be alright- for both the omega's sake and for Seijuurou's sake as well.

Masaomi already lost his wife...he refused to lose his son and soon to be son-in-law as well.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Slowing down as he gulped in large amounts of needed oxygen, he wiped away his tears and snot on his sleeve._

_Looking around, he noted that he was in the park. Ignoring the stares he got from some of the other park-goers, he went to sit on a nearby bench and sighed sadly._

_No longer crying (he ran out of tears), he thought about the argument he had gotten into with his mate._

_His heart began to hurt as he remembered his mate words to him and what the brunette had spat back._

_They had never really got into a fight before (not one as serious as this), and he was feeling like crying all over again._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Dr. Satou, how is Kouki?" Kouta asked as soon as the doctor same out to greet them. All of them had stood up as soon as the doctor called for the family of a Furihata Kouki.

Dr. Satou, a middle-aged beta, sighed before asking them if they were the patient's family.

"I'm his brother and legal guardian." Kouta answered immediately. He then gestured towards the redhead beside him, saying, "This is my brother's bond mate and the gentlemen at my left side is his father." He explained.

The doctor nodded as he looked pointedly at Mibuchi. "And this young man?"

Mibuchi looked a bit worried (he didn't want to be kicked out just because he wasn't related to anyone there- Sei-chan needed him right now) but Kouta automatically replied, "He's my boyfriend."

It took everything in Mibuchi to hold in the squeal that so desperately wanted to come out. Hoping that his face didn't give away his shock or anything, Mibuchi calmly nodded.

Dr. Satou didn't question it as he immediately gave them the details of Kouki's condition. "We managed to drain out all the blood that had gotten inside the patient's skull cavity and we gratefully avoided any hemorrhaging during the operation. And fortunately for all of us, the damages were not too extensive so there were no extensive swelling or damaged brain tissues that would need to be removed."

"So, is Kouki going to be okay?" Kouta pressed, not really understanding much of the medical things the doctor had just said.

Dr. Satou sighed as he replied, "Although we managed to stop the bleeding, Furihata-sama is not out of the clear just yet. With all head trauma patients, we need to keep him here for further observation, checking his vital signs and keeping an eye out for any seizures that may occur during the next following days. We also need to monitor his intercranial pressure to make there will be no blood clots forming." He explained.

"In addition to the head trauma, Furihata-sama has also suffered from a few fractured ribs and a dislocation of his right shoulder. But again, we are fortunate that none of the bones were broken and we were able to mend and stabilize them. If all goes accordingly, his ribs should be healed in 4-6 weeks. As for his shoulder, I highly advise that you make sure he keeps his shoulder immobilized for at least three weeks- do not let him use it or put any strain on it. After that, it can take a few more weeks, possibly up to 12 weeks for his shoulder to be fully healed." The doctor told them.

Kouta released a long breath, losing the strength to stand any longer and decided he needed to sit instead. Mibuchi covered his mouth in horror when he listened to exactly what the full extent of Kouki's injuries were. Seijuurou merely stayed where he was at, not moving at all though the others knew he was listening to every word that the doctor had said.

As for Masaomi, he kept his face straight as he asked the doctor, "Is Kouki-kun awake right now?"

Dr. Satou shook his head sadly. "No, I'm sorry. Furihata-sama's currently in a coma. Head injuries are a delicate matter and there is no definite time frame as to when or if a patient will awake."

"If? There's a chance Kouki won't wake up?" Kouta demanded, looking terrified.

Dr. Satou held up his hands to calm the other. "I do not want to give you a definite yes, but I will say that since Furihata-sama's damage wasn't as severe as it could have been, it is more likely for him to awaken in a few days than if he were to not. The chances of him not awakening is about an estimate of around 30%." The doctor explained.

Kouta did start to calm down, but he muttered, "But it's still a 30% chance that..." The alpha trailed off, not even wanting to finish that sentence.

The doctor gave the group a sympathetic look before informing them, "We have transferred Furihata-sama into his room for recovery. You may all see him but I must warn you to please be careful not to jostle Furihata-sama too much and to refrain from making too much noise since the patient is still in recovery." He reminded them.

The group thanked the doctor and waited for the nurse that would bring them to the omega's room.

"Good evening, I'll be showing you to Furihata Kouki-sama's room now." A middle-aged woman, who must have been the nurse based on her clothes, came by to inform them politely.

"Sei-chan, let's go." Mibuchi urged the redhead, trying to get his friend to stand up.

Masaomi moved to the other side of his son and placed a gentle but firm hand onto the redhead's shoulder. "Seijuurou, Kouki-kun is waiting for you." He said in a strong voice.

Hearing his father's voice, Seijuurou slowly risen up from his seat, though the dead look in his eyes stayed the same.

Mibuchi smiled sadly as he gently wrapped both his arms around the other's one arm. Masaomi kept his hold on his son's shoulder and they both led the redhead towards Kouki's room while Kouta walked ahead and asked the nurse about additional details about his brother's condition.

"We're here. This is his room, room 304. It's a private room so Furihata-sama will be able to have some peace and quiet to himself." The nurse explained to them as they all stood outside the closed door. "Now, I will remind you all to please not make too much of a commotion while you are in here- the patient has just come out of surgery and he needs as much quiet as possible." She told them sternly.

"We understand, miss." Masaomi assured her. The nurse nodded as she slowly opened the door.

The small group quietly made their way into the room and Mibuchi couldn't help but gasp when they finally saw Kouki.

The omega was asleep, slightly elevated in the bed, bags under his eyes and his skin almost paler than Seijuurou's himself. There were bandages wrapped around the omega's head. His right arm was placed in a brace and there was some type of...contraption, like a harness or something wrapped around his torso. The brunette was connected to an IV in his left arm and many other wires that were sticking out from god knows where in the other parts of his body. There was also a nasal cannula placed on his face to help the other breathe better and a soft beeping sounded in the room, indicating the omega's heart beats.

Kouki looked so fragile...as if he could break from a single blow of air.

The beta heard Seijuurou gasp quietly as he turned to see the redhead looking intently at the brunette on the bed. Almost immediately, the alpha shook him and Masaomi off and swiftly made his way to his mate, taking the seat right next to the omega's bed.

Mibuchi almost cried when Seijuurou gently reached forward to take his bond mate's left hand in his, making sure to avoid the IV protruding from it, and gently rubbed his thumb on the other's hand. Seijuurou's gaze was locked on the sleeping omega's face, never once looking away.

Masaomi took a deep breath, watching his son with his mate before him. Once again, he was frustrated with how completely helpless he felt in this situation.

Kouta had froze at the sight of his little brother, injured and unconscious in the hospital bed, before shaking it off and moving forward to Kouki's other side.

The older Furihata stood at the opposite end of Seijuurou, inspecting all the bruises and wounds that his brother had received, trying to see exactly where it was that his little brother was hurting the most.

Finally letting out a long sigh, Kouta reached forward and gently brushed back a lock of hair out of the young omega's forehead before placing a soft kiss on the other's forehead. "You'll be just fine, baby brother." Kouta assured him calmly, smiling sadly at the only living blood relative and family he had left in this world. "After everything we've been through, God wouldn't take you away from me now. You're so strong, Kou. You can fight this." Kouta started to choked up a bit as he felt his tears finally fall down, blurring the image of his hurt little brother.

"I believe in you, Kouki. We all do. So please, wake up soon."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Taking deep breaths, he managed to control his tears._

_As he thought about it more, he realized that they were both in the wrong, not just his mate._

_Feeling guilty now, he wondered what he could do to apologize._

_He didn't think that the redhead was the type to apologize first so he knew that he would have to be the bigger person._

_He was still mad but he loved his alpha._

_Even though he still thought that his alpha was stupid._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"We're here! Are we too late? Did Furi's condition worsen? We rushed here as soon as we got the call!" Hayama panted as both he and Nebuya rushed into the hospital room.

Mibuchi scowled at the both of them as he brought up his finger to his lips and shushed them. "You're in a hospital, you buffoons! And Kou-chan's sleeping so speak quietly!" He hissed at them, gesturing towards the unconscious brunette on the bed.

Last night, Masaomi apologized as he told the group that he had a business trip that he needed to leave for in the morning. Kouta assured the Akashi head that it was alright to go and that he would keep the older Akashi updated about Kouki's condition.

When Akashi's father left, Kouta told Mibuchi that it was also okay for the beta to go on home to get some rest, that the brunette would watch over Kouki and Seijuurou for the night.

But Mibuchi refused and told him that he already informed his family about the situation beforehand and they told him it was okay for him to stay for as long as it was needed so he could watch over his dearest and closest friends. And Seijuurou and Kouki were just that- he loved the both of them like they were his own children (the fact that he was only a year older than them made no difference to the beta whatsoever).

Like Kouta, Mibuchi also packed a bag of clothes and toiletries for both himself and Seijuurou before they had come so they would be okay to stay at the hospital for a few days.

While Kouta went to inform the medical personnel about the three staying over at the hospital to watch over Kouki, Mibuchi walked towards the unconscious omega and whispered a few words in the other's ear, encouraging him to wake up soon, before giving him a small kiss on his cheek and moving away.

Pulling up a chair beside the quiet redhead, Mibuchi rubbed the other's back comfortedly as he pulled out his phone and began to call their friends and teammates about the brunette's incident.

Mibuchi called his fellow uncrowned kings first. Like him, Nebuya chose to go to Tokyo for college and was studying in physical education, with a course of sports education to become a Physical Ed teacher, at Nittaidai (Nippon Sport Science University).

Hayama, on the other hand, decided to stay in Kyoto and attend Kyoto Seika University. The blonde was interested in computers and animation (his dream was to create or help design an anime) so he took up a four-year course in animation.

When the two received the news, Hayama cursed that he wasn't in Kyoto at the moment and was actually in Tokyo for a family reunion. He and Nebuya promised to visit them in the morning since there were in more trains going to Kyoto for the night.

Mibuchi then decided to call Aida Riko next. He and the girl actually got along with their love for cute things and even though the girl had already graduated, he knew that she still kept in touch with the Seirin basketball team.

Actually, she had told him that she was planning to continue coaching the team, using it as working experience for the course she was in- she was attending the same university as Nebuya, studying to become a sports trainer. The Seirin coach sent her prayers and promised to inform the other players about the situation and made him promise to also keep her updated on the omega's status.

Next, Mibuchi decided to call Momoi Satsuki since he had also made friends with her (they were girlfriends together with Aida as they discussed about girly things sometimes). Momoi gasped and demanded that she be kept updated about everything about Kouki's condition too and cried when she learned how Seijuurou was taking the incident. She promised to call the other miracles about the what happened since they also cared about Kouki and would also be worried about how their ex-captain was handling it.

Afterwards, Mibuchi made one last call to his family, telling his mothers that their was no need to bring dinner since it was late and that he would just eat something in the cafeteria.

For the rest of the night, the three stayed with Kouki in the hospital, Kouta insisting that Mibuchi sleep on the small but comfy couch that was in the room while he stayed in his chair beside Kouki, folding his arms on the bed and resting his head on them as he slept.

While the two slept, only Seijuurou stayed awake, unable to sleep as he kept his eyes on his unconscious bond mate. Only seeing images in his head of the last time he had seen and spoken with the brunette. Reliving their fight over and over in his mind during the entire night.

In the morning, Hayama and Nebuya took the first train to Kyoto like they said and headed straight to the hospital.

"Oh....Furi..." Hayama trailed off, speechless when he finally saw the male omega.

"Has anything changed?" Nebuya asked Mibuchi quietly as Hayama made his way towards the bed.

Mibuchi shook his head. "No. He hasn't woken up yet but his stats are in the normal range, so he's doing okay." He explained to the other.

The dark-skinned alpha nodded as he and Mibuchi made their way towards the bed as well.

Hayama was staring at the sleeping omega, tearing up a bit when he noticed all the bandages and wires covering him. Smelling the comforting scents his friends were giving out, the blonde quickly wiped his tears and took a deep breath.

"Furi! Me and Nebuya are here! It's been a while, huh?" Hayama said cheerfully, putting on a smile on his face. "It's been about a month since we last saw each other and you look like you've lost a lot of weight. That's no good, Furi- since you're now the captain of your basketball team, you have to have muscles, you know. Like Nebuya!" He pointed his thumb at the alpha behind him.

Nebuya nodded as he flexed his muscles. "That's right, Furihata. As soon as you wake up, I'll help you gain more muscles. We gotta get more meat on your bones, man!" He chuckled quietly, reaching up and even though the alpha's hands were huge, the way he touched the brunette's shoulder brace was undoubtedly gentle. "That's with you need to wake up, Furihata." He added softly.

"He will." Hayama said confidently. His face softened when he told them, "Furi will definitely wake up- because there's no way he can ever leave captain. Not like this." His face saddened as they all looked in the redhead's direction.

Seijuurou was still sitting in his seat from before, looking listless as ever. He hadn't responded once since Mibuchi received the phone call yesterday and it was obvious that the redhead didn't get a wink of sleep last night.

Kouta sat in Mibuchi's chair beside him, holding up a phone as they Facetimed someone on the other line. The beta wasn't too sure who it was exactly, but Kouta had told him that he had called Kouki's best friend from America to inform him about what happened.

Now, Mibuchi could pick out two voices on the other line (it was on speakerphone) and the first voice sounded furious, if indicated by the long stream of curse words the person was screaming out, while the second voice was much calmer, obviously trying to calm the first person down.

"Shougo, enough! Swearing at Akashi isn't going to help things." Nijimura said sternly.

Haizaki snorted, still glaring daggers at the catatonic redhead. "Well, it's fucking helping me. I told him to watch Kouki's ass and what do I find out? Kouki's in a fucking coma! And on top of that, this son of a bitch won't even talk to explain himself!" he shouted.

"He's obviously still in shock about his mate- lets just leave him to himself for now." Nijimura told him gently, rubbing the other's lower back soothingly.

The male omega growled but tsked as he looked back at the screen. "Dammit! Kouta! Face the phone towards Kouki again- I can't stand looking at Akashi's fucking moping anymore!" He demanded.

Kouta smiled wearily as he nodded and did as the other asked.

The uncrowned kings took this chance to move towards their captain- even if they had already graduated and were no longer on the same team, Akashi would always be their captain and friend.

"Hey, captain. How are you?" Hayama asked, smile disappearing when the redhead wouldn't even look at him.

"Oi, Akashi. Furihata wouldn't be happy if he saw you like this." Nebuya told him, also frowning.

"He's been like this since we found out about Kou-chan's accident- I don't know how to snap him out of it! Kouta and I are really worried for him." Mibuchi sighed sadly.

They stood around, looking helpless before Hayama gasped, pounding his fist on his hand. "I just remembered something!" The blonde grabbed his backpack that he brought with him and dug through it, searching for something.

"Furi-oniisan called me last night too and told me where his spare house key was hidden- by the way, hiding it in a loose floorboard under the house is sheer classic- and told me to bring some items of Furi's that might comfort him and help him wake up.

The beta pulled out Kouki's red fluffy blanket, a fuzzy round orange pillow that reminded them of a basketball, and a soft lion plush that was dressed as a king- with red cape, crown and all- and with very familiar red and gold heterochromatic haughty eyes.

Mibuchi cooed as he petted the cute lion. "This looks just like Sei-chan!"

Nebuya grinned also. "This is all the stuff that Akashi probably got him."

Hayama nodded, smiling widely. "Yup! With this, Furi will surely wake up soon. Ah! Akashi, hold still for a sec since I gotta put your scent on these things- I think it's lessened being in my bag for a few hours."

After thoroughly rubbing the items all over the frozen redhead, Hayama went to place them onto the brunette's bed as the other two unsuccessfully tried once more to get Akashi to respond to them.

Just as they were about to give up on the redheaded alpha, a knock on the door sounded.

Mibuchi was the one to answer it, looking curious as he asked who it was. The beta's eyes widened and he gasped aloud when he saw who was there.

"Ah. Thank god I got the right room." Mayuzumi commented, walking inside the room.

"Ehh? Mayuzumi's here too?" Hayama exclaimed, also surprised.

Mibuchi quickly got over his shock and smiled as he gave the silver-haired beta a big hug, much to the other's displeasure. "Mayu-kun! You're here!" He cheered happily.

"What is it with my kouhai giving me horrible nicknames?" Mayuzumi sighed mournfully, trying to move out of the beta's strong grip.

"Ah, we knew that deep down, you actually did care about us." Nebuya grinned, looking happy as well.

Mayuzumi rolled his eyes as he finally got out of Mibuchi's grasp. "I really don't." He told them bluntly.

"Why are you here, Mayu-kun? Who told you about Kou-chan's accident?" Mibuchi asked, looking curious.

Mayuzumi gave them a bored look as he replied, "I was already here in Kyoto, visiting my parents. And then I got a call this morning from Momoi about Furihata being in the hospital and she ordered me to come visit."

Mibuchi's eyebrows lifted so high they almost hit his hairline. "You're friends with Momoi-chan?"

"No." Mayuzumi denied bluntly. "We only text or sometimes call- though it's rare- to exchange views on certain light novels or she wants me to recommend her a book that I like. It's kinda annoying. Ah, and anyway here- she wanted me to give this to you guys since she and that Aomine person couldn't make it here themselves." He held up the gift basket that had been in his hands from the start. "There's a light novel in there as well- consider it my contribution." He added.

"I'll take it!" Hayama immediately took the basket away. "Ooh- there's yan yan!"

"I call dibs on the Pretz." Nebuya called out. Mibuchi rolled his eyes as the two idiots fought over the basket.

Looking back at Mayuzumi, he saw the silver-haired beta watching Seijuurou intently.

"How long has he been like that?" Mayuzumi pointed his chin at the redhead.

Mibuchi sighed as he shook his head. "He hasn't said anything since yesterday- and he barely responds to anything we say. It's obvious that he hasn't slept at all and he hasn't eat or drink a single thing or even taken a bath! We're all very worried about him." The beta told him sadly.

Mayuzumi narrowed his eyes slightly before slowly making his way to the redhead.

Mibuchi watched as the silver-haired beta stood behind the redhead and gasped out loud as he watched Mayuzumi quickly pull out the chair from under Seijuurou, making the redhead go crashing to the floor.

"Mayuzumi!" Mibuchi just caught himself from shouting as he hissed out the name instead.

The crash seemed to be the thing to finally snap Seijuurou out of his stupor.

The redheaded alpha quickly stood up and growled angrily at the silver-haired beta. The uncrowned kings and Kouta (who had just finished his call) were alarmed as they began to move in order to stop the furious alpha before he attacked, but Mayuzumi only raised his hand as a signal for them to wait, looking at Seijuurou with his usual deadpanned expression on his face.

"That must have hurt, huh." Mayuzumi spoke, looking calmly at the angry alpha in front of him.

Seijuurou gave a furious growl, sending shivers down the backs of the room's occupants. "What the fuck was that for?!" Everyone (except Mayuzumi, of course) was shocked at the redhead's rare cursing.

Mayuzumi only raised an eyebrow at him. "I was just proving a point." He pointed out.

"What point?" The alpha snapped.

Mayuzumi crossed his arms across his chest, giving the other a haughty look. "I know that you're blaming yourself for all of this. You're probably wishing that it was you in that hospital bed instead of your bond mate. You think that if you were suffering in pain as well, then everything will be better and he'll wake up?"

Seijuurou gritted his teeth, not saying anything.

Mayuzumi continued on. "If that's what you think, then I decided to put you in pain to prove if it was true. I know that fall must have hurt. Now, look at Furihata." He ordered, pointing a finger at the unconscious boy in bed.

Seijuurou glared at him for a few tense moments, making the atmosphere in the room nearly suffocating, before slowly looking at where the beta was pointing at.

"See?" Mayuzumi said. "You're in pain- mentally, emotionally and now physically- and your bond mate's still in a coma. So that means that even if you sit here sulking, wallowing in your self pity, it still won't bring your omega back to you. You're just making yourself and someone around you miserable. It's pathetic."

The redhead anger slowly ebbed away, feeling nothing but sadness as he stared at his bond mate. "But...even if I didn't act like this, what assurance could you give me that he would wake up if I were to take care of myself?" The alpha asked quietly. The entire room sighed in relief as the tension in the air dissipated.

Mayuzumi looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I can't. Whether you sulk or cheer up, doesn't really change much in your mate's condition." He admitted before adding, "But, the coma troupe is a common occurrence in the light novels I read, and if there's something I've learned, it's that when a coma patient is surrounded by happy vibes and the people they love, that helps them wake up even sooner." He pointed out.

"Besides, they say that coma patients can be conscious of their surroundings, even while in a coma, so that should give you a kick in the ass and make you start acting normal again. Because your bond mate needs you- now more than ever, Akashi." Mayuzumi told him, looking very serious.

Seijuurou furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about the other's words. Looking at his mate for a moment longer, the redhead finally looked away and faced Mayuzumi. The beta could see the unsureness and vulnerability in the other's eyes. "Kou...Kouki will wake up again...if I take care of myself. He would be upset...if he sees me as I am right now." Seiuurou said hesitantly.

"That's right, Sei-chan." Mibuchi finally found his voice to say something. He and the others had been quietly watching the two's confrontation.

"Yup, he'd kill you before murdering the rest us for letting you become like that." Hayama added, with Nebuya nodding in agreement.

"He's right, Seijuurou. If not for your own sake, at least treat yourself better for Kouki. My little brother wouldn't be happy, otherwise." Kouta told him gently.

Seijuurou looked back at Mayuzumi, his eyebrows still furrowed but he seemed to look a little better now. "I...alright. For Kouki I will be better." He finally agreed.

Mayuzumi awarded him with one of his rare barely-there smiles as he replied, "Good. So you can start by taking a bath- you look like crap and you reek. Then you can eat a burger or something cause you look like you're going pass out soon and I refuse to be the one to pick up your dead body off the floor." The beta warned him.

The redhead nodded, before hesitantly asking once more, "Do you really believe that Kouki will wake up soon? Are you sure?"

"Of course I am." Mayuzumi scoffed. Then he gave the alpha a smirk.

"Besides, when has something I've said ever been wrong?"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_The way to a man's heart was through his stomach._

_He decided to buy one of his mate's favorite foods- green tea ice cream mochi._

_He himself HATED mochi...so him buying this for his mate was a true testament to how much he loved him._

_It was a bit costlier than the regular mochi, but he knew that this was one of his lover's favorite brands._

_Truthfully, he himself made the best kind of mochi- better than anything sold in the stores (that's what his mate had told him and the compliment made him very happy)._

_The redhead would absolutely devour his homemade green tea mochi with red bean filling and wrapped in a sakura leaf._

_But since he was still a bit mad at his mate, he decided that store-bought mochi would be good enough for now._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"We're here!" Kawahara and Kagami shouted out, with Kuroko and Fukuda right behind them.

"Shhh!" Multiple voices hissed at them in warning.

"Oops, sorry!" The two apologized, yelping when Mibuchi whacked them on the heads with his purple fan (a gift he got from Riko).

"I apologize that we were only able to visit now." Kuroko told them, taking a seat next to Seijuurou as the other three went to the other side of the bed to greet Kouki.

Seijuurou smiled at the blunette, waving his hand. "We understand- we are all in our final year before graduation and Kyoto is quite a distance from Tokyo." The redhead understood.

Kuroko gave a small smile before looking at the brunette who was lying in the bed.

The Seirin members decided to take a trip to visit their captain during the weekend. They decided to only allow the third years to come since they were the closest to Furi and it would be best if the team didn't crowd around the hospital room.

"How is he?" Kuroko asked, reaching over to pat the omega's hand.

Seijuurou smiled sadly as he looked over his mate once again. "His condition is still the same. He hasn't woken up yet- not once." He said quietly.

Four days had passed since the accident and the omega continued to stay in slumber, not once showing any signs of waking up. But the nurses encouraged them that there was still hope that Kouki would wake up again- it just wasn't the right time yet.

After the day Mayuzumi knocked some sense back into the redhead, Seijuurou began to act almost normal again, although he was still depressed by the state of his bond mate.

Seijuurou and Kouta had informed their schools of their situations and both schools gave them permission to miss the next few days, agreeing to email their assignments and lessons instead so that they wouldn't fall far behind in their studies.

Mibuchi also stayed, but he didn't worry too much about missing school- he had decided to stop his own studies for now and take some time to find out what he truly wanted to do with his life. His parents agreed as long as the beta helped out with the family business while taking off from school (his family were well known for their high class kimono-making and flower arrangements).

As the days passed, the three helped to take care of Kouki- washing his body, helping the nurses with monitoring how he was doing, constantly talking with the omega since the doctor advised that their voices might help the patient wake up sooner.

The three spoke together quite often, learning a new number of things about each other. Seijuurou especially noticed how close Kouta and Mibuchi were getting. When the two began to talk to one another about something, the redhead decided to focus on his assignments instead of crashing their conversation.

Even though four days had passed, none of them had lost hope that Kouki would wake up soon. They just knew that the omega would open his eyes- they just needed to wait patiently.

"Woof! Woof!" Nigou's popped out of Kuroko's bag and leaned forward to lick Kouki's hand.

"Dammit, Kuroko! We're in a hospital and dogs aren't allowed!" Kagami growled, shrieking with Nigou jumped out of the bag and rushed towards the Seirin redhead. "Gyaah! Someone help!!!" He made shooing noises at the energetic dog on the ground, the large player balancing ontop the chair to avoid the puppy.

"Shh...you're making too much noise, Kagami-kun." Kuroko chided, whistling to bring Nigou back.

When Nigou was in Kuroko's arms once more, Kawahara remembered something and opened his bag. "Oh yeah, we brought cards from everyone at school- they all wish for Furi to recover soon." He told them, bringing out a thick wad of envelopes and homemade cards. "And there's a basket of snacks from the team too!"

"Aww...that's so sweet!" Mibuchi cooed, putting the basket with the other gifts in the room (Kouki had received quite a large number of get well presents from a lot of people who also cared about him) before taking the cards and looking through them.

"I brought some clothes for Furi for when he's released from here and I got you more clothes as well, Furi-niisan." Fukuda said, handing the bag of clothes to the elder Furihata brother.

"Thanks, Fukuda!" Kouta grinned, accepting the bag.

Kagami had brought something too and handed it to Seijuurou. "Tae says she's sorry for what happened and hopes that Furi will be okay. We made some triple chocolate brownies for you guys to share- and if Furi wakes up soon, they should still be good so make sure you give him one." He told the redhead.

Seijuurou smiled thankfully as he accepted the baked goods. "Thank you, Kagami. These look delicious."

"Ah, and here." Kagami also handed the redheaded alpha a box of some sort of chocolate with a strange human-monster thing attached to the top with a purple ribbon. "When I was at Shuutoku, Takao gave me this to give to you. He says he hopes that Furi will get better soon and that he's sorry that the Omega-whatever squad wasn't there to protect him. The Titan on top (at Seijuurou's confused look, Kagami took some time to explain what exactly a Titan was and that it was from the anime, Attack on Titans) is from Midorima. Midorima says to take care and that this doll is YOUR lucky item- the chocolates are Furi's lucky item."

Seijuurou still looked confused about the doll but thanked the redhead and promised that he would call the Shuutoku pair later to thank them for their thoughtful gifts.

"I also have a gift from Kise- he says the same for Furihata-kun to get better." Kuroko handed Seijuurou a wrapped gift containing some nice-smelling bath salts and soothing oils. "And Shigehiro-kun and I have brought some books that Furihata-kun has been wanting to read for a while." He handed him a short stack of books as well.

Seijuurou smiled at all of them, grateful that he and Kouki had such caring friends. He placed the gifts next to Murasakibara's (the purple giant together with his boyfriend, Himuro Tatsuya, had sent a large bucket of jellybeans, together with a handmade get well soon card that had arrived by mail yesterday).

Everyone was now lounging around the room, all of them not knowing what to say as they looked at the main occupant of the room, the only one amongst them sleeping peacefully in the bed.

"He looks better than I expected. I had imagined...well, I thought the worst when I received the call." Kawahara admitted, face tightening as he recalled how horrified he felt that night when he found out about the omega's condition.

"I'm sure we all thought that at one point." Kagami pointed out, leaning against the wall as he crossed his arms.

"Do you guys know exactly what happened? All Coach told us was that Furi fell down the stairs but, how did that exactly happen?" Fukuda asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"We were told that Kou-chan was helping someone who was about to fall down the stairs themselves- but in the process of saving them, Kou-chan ended up falling down himself." Mibuchi explained sadly.

"Do you know who that person was that Furihata-kun saved?" Kuroko questioned.

Mibuchi shook his head. "I have no idea."

"I heard something about that." Kouta jumped in. "One of the nurses told me that the person Kouki saved was sent to another hospital after making sure Kouki was here safe- she said that the person was the one to call us about Kouki's incident." He looked at both Seijuurou and Mibuchi.

Seijuurou frowned. "If Kouki had saved that person, then why did he or she need to go to another hospital afterwards?"

Kouta shrugged, looking helpless. "I don't know."

The group continued to talk amongst themselves and ate the lunch that Mibuchi's mothers had brought over for them to eat.

Around 5, the Seirin members decided that it was time for them to leave. They waved goodbye as Fukuda and Kawahara gently gave their best friend a hug, wishing that he would wake up soon.

After dinner, the trio were sitting around the room as they checked to see what was on tv before there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Mibuchi was once again the one to answer the door and he gasped in surprise.

A foreigner with silver hair was smiling at him while he held onto the handles of the wheelchair where another man, this time Japanese with black hair and glasses, was sitting on.

Mibuchi immediately recognized them to be one of the most decorated ice skaters ever in history. And they were one of the most popular, current-trending star couples in the world as of right now.

It took everything in the beta to not freak out in front of Yuuri and Victor freaking Katsuki-Nikiforov.

He will stay calm.

"Hello, is this Furihata Kouki-kun's room?" Victor smiled politely, asking him in accented Japanese.

Mibuchi gave them a gentle smile as he nodded. "Yes, and may I ask why you both are here?"

Yuuri was the one to answer this as he nervously patted the little bundle in his arms. Mibuchi blinked when he finally noticed that there was something in the other's arms. "Eto...I just wanted to check on him. Um, I'm the one that Furihata-san saved a few days ago."

Mibuchi blinked, no longer freaking out at the sight of the famous pair, as the other's words hit him.

Sobering up, Mibuchi gave them an understanding smile as he moved to the side to let them in. "I see. Please come in."

Victor pushed his husband inside the room, Seijuurou and Kouta sitting up in their seats as they too recognized the famous couple.

"You were the one that Kouki saved?" Seijuurou asked, hearing what the younger man had said at the door.

Yuuri looked regretfully at the unconcious brunette in bed before turning away to look at the redhead. "Yes. I had gone out to pick up a few items at the store but on the way, I got hit by a contraction. Unfortunately, I was on the stairs at that time and I would have lost my balance and fallen down if Furihata-san didn't save me." He explained.

"You were pregnant." Mibuchi gasped, staring at the small bundle snuggled against Yuuri (who Mibuchi just remembered was actually a male omega- the first and only male omega to have competed in the Olympics and made history by winning gold).

Yuuri blushed as he nodded, looking fondly at the couple's newborn. "I had thought it was only false contractions so I didn't think much of it- I was just focused on getting some help for Furihata-san. But as soon as he went into surgery, I made the phone call with his cell to the first two contacts on his speed dial list. Afterwards, I was suddenly hit by more painful contractions and finally realized that I was actually in labor for real." He said sheepishly.

"After that, I had no choice but to leave since my doctor was working at another hospital." Yuuri told them. "They sent me off via ambulance."

"My Yuuri was amazing in labor and fought well for a good 14 hours straight. He's incredible, no?" Victor added, the Russian alpha smiled proudly at his mate.

"Victor." Yuuri blushed at the compliment. "Anyway, after having a difficult birth, I had to stay in the hospital for a few days so the doctor could monitor the little one and to also give me time to recover from the birth- I'm still not quite able to walk normally yet, hence why I have to be in a wheelchair for a while. That's why it took us so long to finally come by and visit Furihata-san again. I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you all." The japanese skater teared up as he bowed his head in apology.

"No, no, please lift up your head, Katsuki-san." Kouta said quickly, not liking to see another male omega cry (it reminded him too much of seeing his little brother cry, and he hated that).

"I am absolutely positive that Kouki doesn't blame you for this accident." It was Seijuurou to speak up this time. Yuuri looked up and saw the redhead giving him a gentle smile. "Kouki wanted to save you and I know that he'd be upset if he knew that you were blaming yourself for this. It was just an accident, after all. And if Kouki doesn't blame you, then I'm sure none of us will neither." Kouta and Mibuchi nodded to this as well.

Yuuri sniffled as he nodded his head. "Okay."

Victor smiled at Seijuurou as he said, "I can tell that Furihata-kun is your mate. I will always be eternally grateful for what your bond mate has done for mine and my child. The hospital bill will be on us and when Furihata-san wakes up, please tell him to come visit us in Hasetsu anytime- we will give him and all your friends and family free vacations at Yuuri's parent's onsen. It's the least we can do." The Russian told him.

Seijuurou smiled as he nodded. "We would love that."

"Victor?" Yuuri looked at his mate before looking pointedly at something on his wheelchair.

"Ah! Yes, I almost forgot. Here!" Victor took the bag that had been hanging off of Yuuri's wheelchair and handed it to Seijuurou.

"What is this?" The redhead asked curiously, opening the bag.

"The day of the accident, Furihata-san was carrying that. Well, he was carrying the same item but it got thrown into the road and got run over by a car." Yuuri explained. "I got a friend of ours to buy another one so we could bring it to you when we visited. There was also a small box in his jeans, but there's some sort of lock on it so we don't really know what's in it. We also brought it and put it in there too."

"Ooh, that's so thoughtful of you!" Mibuchi beamed.

"What is it, Seijuurou?" Kouta asked, looking curious.

Seijuurou pulled out a small red box and looked at it curiously. There was a type of lock on it, but not for a key. It looked like it needed some sort of code to open it.

The alpha decided to put it on the side table and let his mate open it himself when he woke up. Seijuurou didn't think it be good for him to open it in case it wasn't meant for him.

He then took out another thinner box but much bigger than the first one and looked at it, letting out a gasp when he realized what it was.

"Green tea ice cream mochi?" Kouta read the name is the box, looking confused now. "If I think about it, Kouki hates mochi- he always complained about the texture of it. So why would he buy it for himself?" He wondered.

Mibuchi watched Seijuurou stare intently at the box and suddenly he understood. "Sei-chan, you love mochi, right? So...I think that he wasn't buying the mochi for himself. Kou-chan was actually buying it for you." He told the other, giving him a gentle smile.

"Aww...he must love you very much." Yuuri smiled at Seijuurou before exchanging loving looks with his own husband and mate.

Seijuurou stared at the box for a moment longer before looking at his sleeping mate.

Even after their fight, Kouki still went and bought him his favorite mochi, including his favorite brand and flavor.

The redhead breathed deeply before giving the other a painful smile, reaching up to give his mate's hand a small squeeze.

Suddenly, a loud knock came at the door and Victor was the one to answer it since he was the closest.

"Da?" He said in Russian, opening the door.

"What the fuck is taking you idiots so long?! I've been waiting in the car for god knows how long already!" An angry voice yelled out, in accented English this time.

"Oh, Yurio! We forgot about you. Well, come inside. And be quiet since there's a patient in here. Plus, my little malysh is sleeping as well!" Victor happily told the other, letting him in.

Again, it took everything in Mibuchi to not scream out at seeing the blonde Russian skater, Yuri Plisetsky, who just as famous as Yuri and Victor come into the room.

Yuri huffed as he entered the room, sending dark glares to everyone in the room.

But when he caught sight of Kouki, his scowl lightened as he looked on sadly at the unconscious boy. "Is this the guy who saved Katsudon?" Yuri asked quietly.

"Yes, this is Furihata Kouki. Without him, I'm not sure if the little one and I would still be here today." Yuuri told him in English, gently bouncing his baby in his arms when the baby started to fuss a bit.

Yuri frowned as he looked around the room. The blonde suddenly locked eyes on Seijuurou.

Stomping his way towards the redhead, Yurio pulled something out of his black bag and shoved it into the other's arms. Seijuurou looked down confusedly at the strange but fluffy tiger doll that was thrusted into his arms.

"This is for your mate- he's your mate, da?" He said slowly in English. When Seijuurou nodded, Yuri looked away, grumbling "When he wakes up, tell him that Yuri Plisetsky says thank you for saving Katsudon and the baby and that if he ever wants free tickets to the Grand Prix Final that's being held in Canada this year, then my number is on the doll and he can just call me. I'll get them for him." The blonde said, looking grumpy although there was a light pink blush on his cheeks.

Seijuurou looked at the doll and indeed saw the number that the blonde had wrote down on the cat's collar. Smiling, Seijuurou thanked him, "Kouki will love this. Thank you, Pilsetsky-san."

Yuri huffed. "Just call me Yuri. Being called by my last name is weird."

The redhead nodded. "Okay, Yuri."

"Or you can called him Yurio." Victor added.

Yuri once again looked pissed as he turned around to flip the birdie at the older Russian. "Отвали, старик! (Fuck off, old man!)" He yelled out in Russian before storming out of the room. To the native Japanese speakers, they had no idea what the blonde had shouted, but they could tell that it wasn't anything nice.

Victor gave them a sheepish smile as Yuuri quickly tried to shush their baby, who began to fuss again from all the noise. "I apologize about Yurio. He's a bit...um, what do you call it? A tsundere?"

Mibuchi giggled as Kouta snorted. "Yeah, we can see that."

Seijuurou waved off the apology. He wasn't bothered much since he also had experience with a certain green-haired tsundere himself.

"Aww...is it a boy or a girl?" Mibuchi asked, cooing at the baby in Yuuri's arms.

Yuuri lit up as he lowered the blanket to show off the baby to them. "It's a he." He said proudly.

The small baby looked just like a mini Victor, but when the baby opened his eyes to reveal a nice dark color, they all knew that the baby had inherited Yuuri's eyes.

"What's his name?" Mibuchi asked, poking the tiny baby's chubby cheeks softly.

Yuuri exchanged a look with his husband because Yuuri slowly said, "Well, actually. We wanted to ask your permission about that. When Victor learned that Kouki was the name of my savior, he and I agreed that it would be such a lovely name for our child."

"And the kanji that's used for it was perfect too." Victor added. "When I learned that the characters for Kouki stood for light and tree, I thought it was perfect for our little malysh! Our son is the light of our lives. And the tree part reminded me of the time where we conceived our malysh underneath one of the wisteria trees-"

"Victor, nyet!" Yuuri interrupted, blushing hotly. "Anyway, we wanted to ask for your permission if we could name our son after Furihata-san? His full name would be Kouki Victorovich Katsuki-Nikiforov." He explained to them.

Mibuchi sniffled at that while Seiuuurou almost stopped breathing when he heard the name, tightening his hold on his mate's hand.

Kouta smiled as he nodded his head, his own eyes misting as he stared down at baby Kouki.

"Yeah, I think my brother will be happy. And it really is a very wonderful name, isn't it?"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Box of mochi in his hands, he quickly walked back to Rakuzan, praying that the ice cream inside the mochi wouldn't be melted by the time he got there._

_He rushed through the streets, apologizing to the people he accidentally bumped into._

_As he walked up a steep flight of stairs, he noticed a rare sight of a male omega- one who looked to be very heavily pregnant- leaning against the railing, quivering a bit._

_Concerned, he came up next to him and asked if he was okay. There was something familiar about the pregnant man, but he couldn't quite figure out why._

_The pregnant man smiled at him, sweating profusely, as he explained that it was just false labor pains and that it would go away soon._

_Still worried, he asked if the man would like some help walking up the stairs. Looking grateful, the pregnant omega nodded._

_When the pregnant man reached for the hand he offered, the man suddenly moaned as he clutched his rounded belly._

_He gasped when he saw the pregnant man lose his balance and started to fall backwards._

_Immediately he caught the pregnant omega and pushed him forward, the pregnant man managing to grab onto the railing like he had hoped for and was steady once more._

_And that was the last thing he saw before he had lost his own footing when saving the pregnant omega and found himself falling down instead._

_He was flying..._

_...and crashing..._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Where am I?"

Seijuurou froze as he looked away from the assignment he had been working on and turned to see his bond mate...awake.

"Kouki!" The alpha pushed his book away and quickly stood up, coming up to the bed to check the brunette closely. "Oh, love. I was so-"

"Love?" The omega looked shocked at the word as he stared at the strange redhead above him. "Um, I-I'm s-sorry...but, w-who are you e-exactly?" He stuttered.

It was like a bucket of the world's iciest water had been thrown right over Seijuurou, drenching his body in chill-to-the-bone coldness.

Not quite understanding what was happening, Kouki looked around, furrowing his eyes at the unfamiliar room. "Where a-am I? A hospital? B-but why..." He wondered, looking more panicked by the second . The omega then looked down at his own body and the beeping from the monitor became faster as the omega started to shake at the sight of all the bandages and wires on him.

Seijuurou finally snapped out of his stupor and placed his hands on the other's shoulders (being really careful with the brunette's right shoulder) and gave the other a pleading look. "Kouki, this is isn't funny. I'm Seijuurou, remember? I'm your Sei, your bond mate! Tell me that you remember me, please." He begged.

Kouki's eyes widened, the heart monitor beeping like crazy. "B-bond mate?! Um, I'm s-s-sorry sir, b-but I'm pretty sure I'm n-not bonded w-with anyone." He insisted.

The redhead shook his head, not believing that this was really happening. This was something that happened in the movies or stories...in fiction, not something that happens in real life.

"Um, s-sir? C-c-can you p-p-please let g-go of me? M-my r-right shoulder is starting to h-hurt." The omega stuttered, looking completely terrified as his eyes started to tear up. The redhead was really scary and he wanted to get away from him as soon as possible.

Seijuurou immediately released his hold on the other, backing away as he looking around the room looking completely unstable, feeling himself lose control of what was going on.

Seijuurou was no longer aware of what was happening around him. At one point, the room was filled with nurses and doctors, checking on Kouki's stats, some of them coming up to him and asking if he was okay.

Then Kouta and Mibuchi returned from the cafeteria and cried tears of joy at seeing Kouki awake, before their faces turned to horror when they learned that Kouki had amnesia.

"Ne, nii-san and Mibuchi-san, can you guys tell me who the redhead is exactly? And why is he here?" Kouki whispered to the other two, but it was still loud enough for Seijuurou to hear.

Apparently Kouki only lost his memories up until the end of the winter cup. So he pretty much remembered everything and everyone till then but for some reason, it was only Seijuurou that he had forgotten.

The alpha could feel his already shattered heart turning into fine dust when he learned about the full extent of his mate's amnesia.

Seijuurou didn't even know if Kouki COULD be considered as his mate anymore since the alpha had been kicked out of the brunette's room, no longer welcomed or allowed to be there anymore.

For Kouki had found his presence to be unsettlingly, almost frightening to him for some reason.

When Kouki was put into a seizure because of his fear rising up whenever the redhead stood too close to him, Kouta looked sad as he apologized to the redhead as he told him that it would be best if he stayed away from Kouki for now. That he was a hazard to Kouki's health (the older brother didn't say the last part aloud, but Seijuurou had gotten the message).

For the next few weeks, everyone avoided him, not knowing what to say to the alpha when they learned of the situation.

And for one of the few times in his life, Seijuurou didn't know what to do next. Because not only did he find this situation unfair, hurtful and infuriating...but he was also scared.

The bond that connected himself to his mate...he could still see the mark on himself, but he could no longer feel the other's presence within him. It was like their bond was broken.

He was no longer connected to Furihata Kouki...and it was the most terrifying feeling he had ever felt in his life.

A few months passed, and Seijuurou had tried to visit the omega a few times but every single time Kouki shied away from him, feeling uneasy around the alpha.

Kouki was acting just like the first time he had met Seijuurou...but only a million times worse.

"Seijuurou, you should think about my offer." His father had told him over dinner one night. In a week, Seijuurou was about to graduate from high school and even till now, he still hadn't gotten any closer to having his mate remember him. Kouki still couldn't stand being in the same room as him and avoided him like the plague.

"I have told you that I decline, father." Seijuurou told him, looking at his plate with a bored expression. The redhead couldn't even remember the last time he had smiled at anything.

Masaomi frowned at him for a while before he let out a sigh. "Alright. But it's already been months and Kou- Furihata-san still hasn't remembered you and also hasn't shown any interest in wanting to get to know you." Seeing his son flinch at his words, Masaomi tone softened as he gently said, "I don't mean to be harsh, but I believe that it would be best if you got away from here and attend university in America. You need to move on with your life, Seijuurou...because Furihata-san has already moved on with his."

His father's words spun around his head for a week, even during his graduation as he gave his lack-luster valedictorian speech.

With his diploma in hand, Seijuurou leaned against the school gates, waiting for his limo to arrive (his father was on a business meeting and couldn't make it to his graduation).

As Seijuurou checked his phone, a familiar feeling washed over him.

Looking up, the redhead gasped, almost dropping his phone when he saw his bond mate standing in front of him.

"Kouki..." Seijuurou whispered, looking shocked.

The brunette didn't meet his eyes but gave him an awkward smile and a little wave. "Hey, A-Akashi-san. U-um, congratulations on g-graduating." He stuttered.

Seijuurou felt his heart drop, knowing that the other still didn't remember him. "Yes, thank you. May I ask why you are here, Kou-Furihata?" The alpha hated speaking to the other so formally.

Kouki hesitated before slowly meeting the other's eyes, shivering a bit in fear. "U-u-um! I-I heard that y-you got i-i-into a school in A-America."

Seijuurou nodded, frowning. "Yes, I did."

Kouki nodded his head as he shakily took something out of his pocket and thrusted it into the other's hands, pulling away quickly and taking a step back.

Seijuurou froze at the object in his hand. It was the silver ring he had gotten his mate during one of their dates.

They had been walking down the street when the brunette pointed out how pretty the silver ring was. He admired how simple but shiny it was. Seijuurou immediately got it for him, despite the brunette's protests.

When the redhead was about to buy a matching ring for himself, Kouki put his foot down and told him that if the redhead was gonna buy him a ring, then the brunette would save up money to buy the alpha one too. Seijuurou had chuckled but agreed to the omega's conditions.

Seijuurou then had wondered what type of ring the other would give him (even one of those toy rings would be more than enough for Seijuurou) but never had he imagined that one day, Kouki would be giving back the very ring the alpha had gotten him.

"U-uh...I thought that s-since you're l-leaving, I-I should g-g-give you back your r-ring. Since, um, well...yeah. I-I mean since w-we're not dating a-and it looks e-expensive." The omega explained.

The alpha felt sick but made sure to keep his face calm as he held the ring back to the other. "It's alright, Kou-Furihata. I insist that you keep this."

Kouki shook his head frantically, stuttering incoherently as he refused to take it.

"Kou! We're leaving already! Hurry up or else we'll leave without you!" A female's voice shouted, the sound of the high, nasally voice grating on Seijuurou's ears.

But Kouki lit up, showing a very happy expression to the first time in front of Seijuurou, as he turned around and called back, "Yeah, I'll be there in a sec, babe!" He didn't stutter once when he replied.

Seijuurou couldn't breathe.

"Oh, is that your girlfriend?" The redhead asked, the fake smile on his face frozen.

Kouki blushed as he shyly nodded. "Y-yeah. Anyway, I-I gotta go. Have f-fun in A-America. Goodbye, A-Akashi-san!" The omega gave him a small wave before walking away. The redhead began to panic, not wanting the other to leave just yet.

"Kou- Furihata!" Seijuurou quickly yelled back.

The omega jumped as he turned around, looking scared. "Y-yes?"

Seijuurou looked at his ma- his ex-mate for one last time before giving a soft but sad smile to his Kouki.

"...To you as well. Furi- Kouki.....goodbye."

. . .

. . . ヽ(´∇´)ノ. . .

. . . (∇´ノ). . .

. . . ヽ( )ノ. . . 

. . . S- . . .

. . .(ヽ´∇) . . .

. . .Se- . . .

. . .ヽ(´∇`)ﾉ. . .

. . .Sei. . .

. . .

"Sei-chan!"

Seijuurou quickly sat up, rubbing his face as he looked up to see Mibuchi looking down worriedly at him. Looking confused for a moment, the redhead's eyes suddenly widened as he looked around, letting out a sigh we he saw the sleeping face of his still unconscious mate.

"Did you have a bad dream, Sei-chan? You were mumbling quite a bit in your sleep." Mibuchi informed him, taking a seat next to him. He hadn't wanted to wake the other from his nap, but the alpha looked too unsettled that Mibuchi decided it would best for him to wake the other in the end.

It's been exactly a week, seven days, since the accident and there was still no sign of the omega waking up. But Mibuchi refused to give up hope- he was one to be believe in miracles.

Seijuurou grab his mate's hand in his own slightly shaky ones, rubbing soothing circles into the other's palm. "Something like that. I...I dreamt that Kouki woke up, but that he forgot all about me." He confessed.

Mibuchi made a sympathetic noise, as he gently wrapped an arm around the other to pull him into a hug. "Oh, Sei-chan. You know that wouldn't really happen in real life, right? It's highly unlikely that Kou-chan would ever forget you. Not only are you two bonded for life, but Kou-chan loves you so much! You know that right?"

Seijuurou nodded, letting himself rest inside the other's embrace. "I know. But...I can't help to think how there was a part of me that sort of wished that my dream had been true." He admitted.

Mibuchi scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as he questioned, "Now, why would you want something like that, Sei-chan?"

Seijuurou smiled sadly as he brought Kouki's hand gently to his lips and placed a soft kiss right in the middle of his hand.

"Because if it had been true...at least I would know that Kouki was awake and living his life right now. As long as Kouki is alive and happy...that is enough for me."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_There was darkness._

_There was screaming and crying._

_There was a wet stickiness somewhere on his face or his head, he couldn't tell._

_There was no feeling in his right arm._

_There was pain everywhere else, a lot of pain._

_There was someone talking to him, jostling his body slightly._

_There was someone taking him away._

_There was an image of his bond mate that suddenly flashed briefly in his mind._

_There was nothing._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

The Day of the Accident~

"Kouki?" Seijuurou blinked at his mate, not at all expecting the omega's visit to his dorm. It wasn't the weekend and he didn't recall setting up a date with the other either.

Kouki smiled brightly at the other, though it waned a bit as he got a good look at the redhead. "Sei! You look horrible!" The alpha's clothes and grooming was still in its usual pristine state, but his red hair was ruffled and there were large, dark circles under his red eyes.

Seijuurou nearly snorted at the brunette's words, but he did roll his eyes. "Insulting your mate is quite an interesting way of greeting, love." He commented sarcastically. Seijuurou did not move aside to let his mate into his room like he usually would- he only stood in the doorway, arms crossed and frowning.

"You know that's not what I meant." Kouki huffed back at him, pushing his way into the other's room even without any invitation and he gasped at how the usually immaculate room looked like a tornado of papers and books went through it. "What happened in here?"

Seijuurou sighed before sitting back at his desk and putting on his reading glasses. "Since this is my final year, my workload has multiplied greatly. Balancing that with my duties as student council president, captain of the basketball team, heir to the Akashi Company and having to prepare for university...I've had no time to spare for little else."

Kouki looked worried as he sat on the other's bed, hugging one of the pillows to his chest. "But Sei, you look exhausted. I'm sure taking even an hour or two of rest wouldn't screw up your schedule too much."

The redhead paused in his reading for his upcoming science test and glanced at his mate incredulously. "Not to sound rude but may I ask why you are here in the first place, Kouki? Your visit is quite unexpected."

Kouki blushed as a small smile graced his lips. "Actually, I have something important that I need to tell you..." He started, reaching to pull something out of his pocket.

Seijuurou was once again reading his textbook, only partly listening to the other. "What is it?" He asked absently. His phone suddenly beeped and the alpha automatically reached across the table for it to see who it was.

Kouki frowned when he realized his mate wasn't paying attention to him. "Sei?"

Seijuurou hummed as he texted something back, not looking at the other. "Hold on a second, Kouki. I'm doing something important right now." Sending a quick text to one of his council officers, Seijuurou placed his phone back on the table and continued with his studying. "Actually, Kouki? Is whatever you came here to do really crucial right now? I have two exams tomorrow and must attend a very important business meeting with my father in the afternoon. I do not have much time to spare right now."

The brunette felt hurt as he put whatever he was about to take out back into his pocket. "So you don't even have five minutes to spare to me? Your boyfriend and bond mate?"

Seijuurou looked up and frowned at the other. "Kouki, you know how busy I am right now. You must understand that I have many responsibilities and I don't have time to play around with you right now."

"I'm not here to play around." Kouki snapped, irritated at his mate treating him as if he was just a little kid. "And I understand how busy you are, Sei. I'm busy too- being a third year and processing for college and I'm also the captain of my basketball team too, remember?"

The redhead sighed wearily. "Yes, but we both know that my duties far outweigh yours."

The omega gritted his teeth. "Oh really? Well, I'm sorry that I'm not ten feet under with stress from my 'not as important as yours' duties like you obviously are."

Seijuurou shook his head, feeling another migraine coming on. "You know what? I can't handle this right now. Maybe it would be best if you leave for now Kouki. I'll pay for your ticket back."

Kouki glared at the other. "Well, I'm sorry my surprise visit is causing you so much trouble." Standing up, the brunette accidentally ending up tripping a bit, ripping some loose papers in the process. "Oh Sei, I'm sor-"

"OUT!" Seijuurou roared, his exhaustion and tension from the past few weeks finally exploding and words that he was barely aware of saying started tumbling out of his mouth. "Leave right now! I didn't ask for you to come in the first place and now you're just causing more of a mess here! I don't need nor want your presence here! Get out and don't come back here until I give you permission to do so!" He ordered.

Kouki blinked at the other, speechless. Seijuurou looked at the omega's shocked face and tearing eyes and the redhead's own eyes widened as what he just said finally hit him. "Wait, Kouki-" His apology was interrupted when a pillow slammed straight into his face.

Pulling away the pillow, Seijuurou's heart clenched as he saw his bond mate glaring angrily at him, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Fine. I'll go. And I'm sorry that I'm unneeded and unwanted right now." As he turned around and opened the door, Kouki paused as he turned back to look at his mate once more. "And don't worry- I won't come back here even if I had your 'permission'. Goodbye Seijuurou."

Seijuurou froze as he watched the other leave, slamming the door behind him. That was the first time the brunette ever called him by his whole first name...and the alpha absolutely hated it.

If he could somehow have used his emperor eye at that moment to see into the future, to see his mate getting into an accident only minutes after leaving him, Seijuurou would have ran right after his omega and never let him go.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_He could hear every word._

_He couldn't see anything, but he could feel everyone's presence._

_Especially his bond mate's._

_His arms itched, wanting to move so they could wrap themselves around his mate tightly and to never let go._

_Please don't be sad everyone, he was really trying to wake up- it was his body that was being stubborn and refused to move._

_Time passed and he started to worry for his mate._

_Ah, he would definitely cook something special for his friends as thanks for taking care of his idiotic alpha._

_Don't give up yet. He was still here. He was still fighting._

_Days, weeks, months, years could have passed by. He didn't know. But what he did know was one thing._

_At last, he could finally open his eyes._

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Nine days had passed since the accident.

Seijuurou slowly opened his eyes when he felt something shift beside him.

Blearily looking at what was causing the movement, his exhausted sullen red eyes met with a tired but alert pair of familiar small brown irises blinking back at him.

All previous feelings of drowsiness left Seijuurou immediately.

"Kouki!" The redhead gasped, sitting up as he looked in hopeful disbelief at his finally awoken mate. The alpha admits that he pinched himself a few times to make sure this wasn't another dream, but the pain burning in his arm assured him that yes, his Kouki was finally awake.

The brunette was laying on the bed, slowly starting to panic as he took in his surroundings.

"Shh...just relax, love. Everything will be fine." Seijuurou cooed to the other, leaning forward to kiss the other's forehead as his hand reached for the call button.

"S-Sei?" Kouki whispered, his voice gravelly from being unused for the last few days.

Since the accident, not once did Seijuurou shed a single tear. Rather than crying, the redhead felts numbness, as if he had already died.

But now, the tears wouldn't stop coming.

But these were tears of happiness because he could finally see his bond mate and his one love awake and looking at him, remembering him.

His Kouki was back and Seijuurou couldn't stop crying even if he tried.

And sweet Kouki made himself calm so that HE could comfort the redhead instead.

What a ridiculous but happy moment it was.

Kouki was wiping away the last of his mate's tears when Kouki's attending physician, Dr. Satou, came in with a nurse at his side.

The nurse checked his vitals while the doctor greeted Kouki and asked how he was feeling.

"I'm okay. I feel really tired though." The brunette admitted, giving a small yawn at the end.

Dr. Satou smiled as he nodded in understanding. "It's completely normal for coma patients to feel fatigue after just waking up."

The omega's eyes widened. "C-coma?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. You've been in the hospital for nine days since you're accident."

"Nine days?!" Kouki looked at his mate, looking horrified at the revelation.

"Shh...we'll talk about it later. I promise." Seijuurou reassured him. Kouki calmed down a bit (if the slowing beeping on the monitor was any indication) and nodded his head, giving his mate's hand a squeeze for support.

When Dr. Satou had Kouki's attention again, the doctor proceeded to ask the omega the usual coma patient questions (what was his name, how old is he, what year it is, who is he bonded to- Seijuurou was especially relieved when Kouki said his name) in order to gauge how oriented the patient was and if there was any signs of memory loss.

After the doctor concluded that Kouki was not suffering from any memory blanks, he then gave Kouki a simple overview of all his injuries and what to do and not do in order for him to recover properly.

The doctor checked Kouki's mobilization, nodding when the omega had no problems moving his neck, legs or his left arm. His right arm was still in a brace and the doctor advised Kouki to take steady breaths as to not aggravate his fractured ribs.

After a few more questions, Dr. Satou finally decided that they had enough for today (it was around 7pm) and that he would come back tomorrow so they could talk more and possibly begin rehabilitation.

The couple thanked the doctor and the nurse as they left the room.

Taking a deep breath, Kouki gripped Seijuurou's hand in his as he closed his eyes. "Nine days...."

Seijuurou smiled as he brushed back some of his brown hair away from his forehead. "It doesn't matter. You're awake and alright now."

Kouki opened his eyes and gave the other a frown. "I can't even imagine what you and everyone else had been going through during this." He said, looking regretful.

The redhead shook his head and he leaned down to give the other a soft kiss on the lips. It felt amazing to finally kiss his mate again. "It's okay. It's over now." He murmured against the other's lips before pressing their lips together once more.

Pulling away, Kouki pouted but decided to let it go- the other was right. As long as he's awake now, then what happened while he was in coma didn't matter anymore. But there was one thing...

"Sei...I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have bothered you when you were too stressed and I shouldn't have hit you with that pillow." Kouki apologized sadly.

Seijuurou quickly shook his head and gave Kouki a serious look. "You are not to blame for any of this. If anything, it was my all fault- I was too stressed from everything and I took it all out on you. I was the one to start the fight in the first place and I take all my words back- I would LOVE it if you visited me, no matter when or where I am. I want to see you always, Kouki. For this entire mess, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you, love. I'm so sorry for everything, Kouki." Seijuurou told him, looking deeply regretful.

Kouki smiled as he touched the other's cheek with his left hand and leaned forward to give the other another kiss. "Okay. I forgive you Sei. And thank you for taking care of me all this time."

Seijuurou chuckled as he leaned his forehead next to the other's closing his eyes. "There's nothing to thank me for. I would love and take care of you for the rest of our lives. It would be my honor." Kouki smiled happily as he snuggled up to his mate.

"I heard you guys." Kouki said, watching as his mate look up at him. "I could hear you guys talking. Not a lot, but I could pick up a few sentences and I could sort of sense the atmosphere of the room." He explained.

The alpha grinned as he gave the omega another kiss. "It makes me feel even better that you were still here, even while unconscious."

Kouki beamed before he gasped as he remembered something. "What about that guy? The pregnant omega that I tried to save?"

"You did save them. And both he and his husband, together with their baby are completely grateful to you." Seijuurou told him, feeling so proud of his mate. "You're a hero, Kouki. Though I've always knew you were one since you were my hero." The redhead grinned as a bright pink blush spread across the brunette's cheeks.

"Oh, shut up Sei." Kouki flushed, a bit embarrassed at the praise. He then froze as he remembered one more thing. "Ne, Sei. Where are my clothes from the accident?" His eyes were wide as he began to sweat a bit.

Seijuurou frowned at the worried look on the other's face as he answered. "The nurses informed me that they had to dispose all your clothes since they were all stained in...er, your blood." The alpha gulped, not wanting to think of his mate bleeding.

He became alarmed when the other looked like he was about to have a panic attack, but then something red caught the alpha's eye and he realized what might be troubling his mate. "Ah, actually Katsuki-san told us that there had been something in your pocket- he took it before the nurses could rid of your clothes and later returned it to us when he visited. Since there's a lock on it, none of us knew what was in it so I placed it on the bedside table." Taking the box from the table behind him, Seijuurou gave it to his mate. "Is this what you were looking for?"

Kouki nearly cried in relief when he saw that the box had been safe from the accident. "Oh, thank god! I was about to cry if I had lost this."

Seijuurou looked at the box curiously. "If I may ask, what is inside of that?" He questioned.

Kouki paused before he suddenly looked down shyly, awkwardly using his hands (trying not to move his right shoulder) to slowly move the lock in a certain way until it suddenly popped open with a loud 'click'! "Um...actually. This was the reason why I had visited you that day. Remember that beach job I had took last summer?"

The redhead grinned as he pulled the other closer to him, "Why, of course I do Kouki. Seeing you everyday in those orange beach shorts made it VERY memorable for me." He purred.

Kouki blushed harder as he swatted the other lightly, giggling. "Well, yeah. Anyway, I took up that job because I wanted to save up money to buy something. Well...I counted up my savings and found out that I actually made more than enough to buy what I wanted."

The brunette smiled widely as he brought up the red box and slowly opened it to show his mate. Seijuurou looked at it and forgot to breath.

Inside was a silver ring, slightly bigger than Kouki's own but it matched the other's ring perfectly.

Kouki blushed as he shyly took the ring out and grabbed his mate's hand. "I told you that when I saved enough money, I would buy you a ring too. I was so excited when I finally bought it that I just had to give it to you immediately. That's why I came to surprise you that day." Kouki confessed.

"Kouki..." Seijuurou was speechless, staring at the shining ring on his finger.

"Do you like it?" Kouki asked excitedly.

Still unable to form proper words, Seijuurou merely pulled Kouki into another kiss, much deeper than their previous ones, hoping to convey just how happy he felt at that moment.

They pulled away only when they ran out of air but even as they panted, they smiled at one another, eyes full of love and happiness.

The two spoke together for a while longer (the omega completely freaked when he found out that the person he had saved was THE Katsuki Yuuri) before Seijuurou urged the omega to rest after he yawned for the fifth time that night.

As they were cuddled together on the bed (the nurse managed to scoot Kouki a bit so Sei could lie next to him) the brunette was slowly drifting off, listening to the sound of beeping from the monitors.

After a while, Seijuurou paused in rubbing circles into his palm and suddenly asked, "Kouki, are you still awake?"

Kouki was but the omega tried to blink away the bit of sleep from his eyes and tiredly answered, "Yup. What's wrong, Sei?"

"Nothing's wrong." Seijuurou assured him. There was a pause of silence afterwards. After a minute of no one saying anything, Kouki was about to ask Seijuurou what he had wanted but the alpha managed to beat him to it first.

"Kouki, will you marry me?"

Kouki swore that he could feel his heart thump really, really hard for three whole beats before he turned to look at the other with wide eyes.

At least he wasn't tired anymore.

With his mate looking completely serious (oh my god, he wasn't joking?!) Kouki opened his mouth and only managed to stutter out, "W-w-what?!!"

Seijuurou brought his hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on his ring finger, making the omega blushed a dark red at the alpha's smoldering gaze that he gave him.

"I want you to be my husband and I yours. After this incident, it's made me realized how short life is and I couldn't....I couldn't bear it if you ever left me again. I don't ever want to be separated from you." Seijuurou told him, looking directly into Kouki's eyes. "I love you Kouki. I love you more than anything in this world and well, we both do have the rings now." He grinned.

Tightening his grip slightly on the omega's hand, Seijuurou took a deep breath as he looked up and gave Kouki a smile as he made sure he had the other's full attention. "So, Furihata Kouki...will you marry me?"

Kouki felt himself let out a gasp, looking straight into the other's earnest eyes. So many things were running through his mind at that moment but...

Kouki sighed.

He thinks...no, he knows that deep in his heart, he already had his answer.

Taking a deep breath, Kouki looked straight in his bond mate's beautiful red eyes and slowly opened his mouth.

"Sei..." The omega reached up to give his alpha's hand a small squeeze. "I'm sorry...but no. I won't marry you."


	20. Chapter 20

## A Handful Of Green Tea Popcorn

"Akashi fucking proposed to you?" Haizaki shouted, looking through his computer screen at the brunette with eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yeah. But...I said no." Kouki told him softly, picking at his 'rib support brace'. Two days after rejecting Seijuurou's proposal, Haizaki was the first person Kouki had decided to confide in about this, wanting his fellow male omega's opinion on the matter.

The silver-haired omega paused. "Wait, did you just say that you rejected that damn Akashi's marriage proposal?"

Kouki flushed but nodded his head. "Yeah." He basically whispered.

Haizaiki blinked at that. "Kouki. When you do shit like this...I want you to know how fucking proud I am of you." He told the other in a solemn tone.

"Shougo! You're not helping!" Kouki complained.

Haizaki threw his hands up in exasperation. "And what do you want me to say? 'No! You should have told the bastard yes?!' HELL NO! I ain't saying that! I think you did the right thing by rejecting that asshole's proposal."

Kouki pouted as he slumped down in his hospital bed, looking frustrated at the other through his computer monitor. He was alone in his hospital room at the moment. Seijuurou was currently at school (Kouki forced him to go and promised that he'll be fine with the doctors and nurses while he waits for his mate to return) and it would be a couple of hours before the other returned. "You think I did the right thing?"

Haizaki nodded his head. "Hell yeah I do. Why? Do you think you were wrong to say no?" He eyed the brunette carefully.

Kouki bit his lip as he slowly shook his head. "No. I think...I mean, I know that in the end I did the right thing. But...I just can't help but second guess myself sometimes, you know?"

"He's not trying to make you feel bad for rejecting his ass, is he?" Haizaki questioned, narrowing his eyes at the other.

Kouki shook his head. "Of course not! Yeah, he was hurt at first but when I explained why I rejected him, he completely understood and was really sweet to me about it. He's always so kind to me..I feel so lucky every time I remember that he's actually mine." He blushed, feeling really shy as he said this.

The other male omega furrowed his eyebrows. "Oi, Kouki. Why did you say no to his proposal anyway? Honestly, I'm also surprised when you told me you rejected his ass."

Haizaki was quiet as he listened to the other's reasons before giving his own opinion. "Look Kouki, for what it's worth, I say you did the right thing. And obviously that bastard's fine with it and he ain't mad or nothing. So don't keep sweating over it."

Kouki sighed. "I'll try."

Haizaki tsked as he rolled his eyes. "Don't just try- DO IT. Fucking Kouki, you were just in a freaking coma and you're bandaged up like a mummy right now. Go worry about that instead!"

The brunette smiled as he nodded his head. "Okay. Thanks, Shougo."

Haizaki still looked disgruntled as he grumbled, "And if that redheaded bastard does give you any trouble about rejecting him or just about anything else, I will literally book the next flight there and skin Akashi alive before tying him to the ceiling and beating him with a stick like a piñata."

"Oh, Shougo. You really are my bestest friend ever- you know that?" Kouki pointed out to the other, touched by the male omega's caring words.

Haizaki humphed as he crossed his arms across his chest. "You bet your ass I know how awesome I am. I'm the fucking best all right- and don't you forget it!" He wagged his finger at the other.

The brown-haired omega gave him a very warm smile in return. "I'm really glad you're my best friend, Shougo. I miss you so much!"

Haizaki sighed loudly as he rolled his eyes. "Oh god no- don't tell me you're getting all mushy again, are you? Cause if you are, I'm exiting out now and leaving your face behind." The omega threatened.

Kouki only giggled at the other's warning and smiled widely at the other. "Okay, okay. Let's talk about a lighter subject, shall we? Now Shougo, I heard from a certain Nijimura-nii about how you finally accepted his feelings last Tuesday while you guys were watching that new horror flick..."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Kouki-sama, Seijuurou-sama will not be happy if he sees you in here." Inuoka Keito, the alpha head chef of the Akashi residence in Kyoto, warned him- though he had a smile on his face as he said this.

Kouki huffed as he kept his eyes on the hot air popper, his left hand on the large bowl as he watched the popcorn popping and spilling into the bowl. "Sei wasn't happy when I locked the door to the bathroom because then he wouldn't be able to enter in case I slip and cracked my head." He gave the chef a deadpanned look.

Keito chuckled. "Seijuurou-sama just loves you so much and is just cautious of anything bad happening to you...again." He pointedly looked at the brunette as he spoke.

Kouki flushed as he looked down at the popcorn. "I know."

After nine days of being in a coma, Kouki had to stay in the hospital for an additional four days in the before he finally got the doctor's okay for him to leave.

Everyone agreed that it would be best if Kouki stayed in Kyoto for a while until he was healed enough to travel (it was agreed that Kouki were to stay in Kyoto for at least two more weeks before traveling back to Tokyo).

Due to his head injury, the brunette was prone to a few headaches and bouts of dizziness whenever he moved around too much or was surrounded by too much noise and people. Traveling by train or plane in his current state would be too much for the omega at the moment.

The harness-like contraption around his torso was switched out with a much easier and less noticeable rib support belt- making it more comfortable for him to move around in, being not too tight so he could breathe easily and he was able to hide it under his shirt.

As for his dislocated shoulder, they switched the brace with a more lighter and easier to move around version. At least now he had more use in his right arm.

When Kouki and Sei arrived at the Akashi Kyoto mansion, immediately the omega was greeted happily by all the staff, some of them actually cried when they saw him and others gave him a warm hug.

Seijuurou decided to stay at the mansion while Kouki was there- choosing to travel back and forth from school to the mansion until his mate was well enough to go back to Tokyo.

One of the things that Kouki immediately noticed when he woke up was how protective Seijuurou was of him.

His alpha had always been the protective type- especially when it came to him- but this was like a hundred times worse.

Seijuurou rarely left his side and pretty much helped Kouki with everything- not even wanting the brunette to lift a single finger to pick up a glass of water if he could help it.

In fact, it was Kouki who forced his mate to go back to school- the alpha was perfectly healthy enough to attend his classes and Kouki would be fine being alone for a few hours a day.

Seijuurou finally agreed to go when Kouki threatened to sneak back to Tokyo without his mate knowing AND that he won't sleep with the redhead (meaning have sex) even after he healed.

So Seijuurou finally backed off a bit and finally allowed Kouki some space to breathe.

"I love Sei. Even if he gets a bit annoying sometimes." Kouki sighed, a fond smile on his face as he took the butter he had melted earlier and poured it all over the freshly popped popcorn.

Keito smiled as he noticed a familiar figure coming up from behind the omega. "I can see how much Kouki-sama really loves Seijuurou-sama."

Kouki blushed as he sprinkled green tea powder and cayenne pepper over the popcorn. "Yeah, I do."

"I love you too, Kouki." Seijuurou hummed as he wrapped his arms from behind Kouki.

Kouki squeaked as he jumped, making the giant bowl of popcorn in his hands to jump up as well. Swerving around, Kouki brightened when he saw his mate. "Sei! You're home, already?"

"The teacher let us out early and I missed you so much so I couldn't help but come straight home". Seijuurou smiled happily at the omega as he leaned in to nuzzle into the other's neck, making sure to thoroughly scent the other. Keito smiled at the both of them before quietly slipping away to give them some privacy.

"I missed you too, Sei." Kouki giggled as the other's nose tickled his neck.

Reaching into the bowl, Kouki took a piece of red and green popcorn and fed it to his mate. Accepting the treat, Seijuurou chewed it as he made a humming noise, "This is quite delicious, Kouki. You added a bit of spice into this I see."

Kouki nodded as he tried a piece for himself, making a happy sound. "Yup! I originally planned on making this sweet by putting chocolate on it, but I decided that savory popcorn would be best for the movies. I'm also planning on making some milkshakes so that could be the sweet component."

The alpha nodded as he pulled one of the stools out to let his mate sit down, wanting the other to rest. Kouki made a face but allowed himself to be pulled down. "So your friends will be here soon?" His mate asked, while his hands went to hold the other's waist.

Kouki nodded as he divided the giant bowl of popcorn into three smaller bowls. "Yup. Kawahara called earlier saying that he'll be here in a few minutes while Fukuda said that he needs to pick something up and will be here soon."

Since Seirin had a holiday that day, his best friends decided to make the trip to come visit and hang out with Kouki.

It's not that Kouki was bored being in the mansion- that wasn't the case at all. There was so many rooms he could explore in and if Sei wasn't with him, then one of the maids or butlers were happy to accompany him or spend some time with him. And most of the time, Kouki was complacent enough to just lie down on one of the many beds or couches or even the hammock in the garden and just take a nap or to relax in.

But Kouki did miss his friends and his brother (who the omega also forced to return to Tokyo for college).

He even missed going to school but he wasn't missing out on much- his teachers even emailed him all the work he missed so he wouldn't be fall behind in his studies and Masaomi even hired Kouki a private tutor to come each day and give him some of the lessons he missed.

Seijuurou went to the refrigerator to take out the ingredients that Kouki had asked him for while the brunette stayed seated but reached over to bring the blender closer to him.

"I must admit, I'm quite curious about the movies we'll be watching today." Seijuurou told the other, placing the ice cream (French vanilla) and almond milk onto the table.

Kouki took a small bowl of buttered popcorn from his first batch he made (no spices) and dropped them into the blender. He then began to pulse the blender until the popcorn was finely grounded.

"Are you sure you should be the one doing this. The sound isn't too loud for you?" Seijuurou asked, looking at his mate worriedly as the sound from the blender was very loud.

Kouki gave him a reassuring smile as he continued to grind the popcorn. "I'm fine, Sei. Loud sounds don't really bother me anymore- it's just bright lights that still make me a bit dizzy." He confessed. The blender and the hot air popper didn't bother him but going outside on a bright sunny morning tended to give him headaches-mostly if he were out for too long.

Seijuurou nodded, still watching his mate to observe for any signs of tiring or dizziness. "I can get that for you." The redhead made a move towards the ice cream scoop that Kouki was holding.

But Kouki shook his head, moving the ice cream scoop away from his mate's reach. "It's fine Sei, I can do it." He said stubbornly.

"But you shouldn't be moving around so much- you did dislocate your right shoulder." Sei pointed out.

"Yeah, I did injure my right shoulder. But I'm left-handed, remember?" Kouki reminded the redhead, holding up the scoop with his left hand. "So I wouldn't even be using my right side anyway."

Seijuurou gave him a sheepish look, leaning in to give the other a small peck on the lips. "Right. I'm sorry for being a bit too protective lately. I just can't help but worry. Especially after the incident."

"I know." Kouki added some scoops of ice cream, almond milk and a few teaspoons of green tea before blending the entire mixture until it became smooth. "Anyway, you'll love the movies- I'm sure of it. Kawahara was the one to choose what we're watching today." He said.

Seijuurou brought the glasses that Kouki asked for and placed them on the counter next to him. "And I recall you telling me that your friends will be giving me a lecture about these movies, correct?" The redhead asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kouki chuckled, "Oh yeah, Kawahara definitely will. You should have seen his face when I told him that you've never even heard of Studio Ghibli, and never blew a casket when he learned that you only just watched Spirited Away recently."

"I'm sorry?" Seijuurou apologized, though he was also chuckling along with the other.

"Don't worry, after today you'll at least have some knowledge about Japanese animation." Kouki grinned at him as he poured a tiny bit of the milkshake mixture into one of the glasses. "Here, try this."

Seijuurou looked at the pale green drink for a moment before taking an experimental sip. "Mm...the texture is a bit strange, but the taste is alright." He commented.

Kouki took a sip as well before nodding that he got the recipe right. He poured the mixture into the glasses, leaving the leftover milkshake inside the refrigerator in case someone wanted extra.

He topped each glass with a good handful of buttered popcorn and sprinkled extra green tea powder on top and added a drizzle of chocolate before it was finally done.

Kouki brought the bowls of spicy green tea popcorn while Seijuurou carried the tray holding the green tea popcorn milkshakes as they both went to the living room where they would be watching the movies.

Just as they placed the food and drinks onto the coffee table, the doorbell rang. "Ooh, that's probably one of them now." Kouki said, looking at the doorway excitedly.

A couple of seconds later, one of the butlers came in and bowed to the couple before announcing, "Seijuurou-sama, Kouki-sama, one of your guest have arrived." The butler then stepped aside and presented said guest.

"Furi, Akashi! Yo!" Kawahara greeted, grinning widely at them. "I got pizza!" He held up the large box in his hands.

"Kawa!" Kouki chuckled as his friend rushed up to give him a big hug.

"Careful." Seijuurou warned, though he was smiling at the two hugging friends.

Kawahara pulled away and grinned at the fellow alpha, exchanging a one-armed man hug with the redhead. "Don't worry, I remember that the princess is still healing." He said cheekily.

Kouki snorted as he swatted at the other's shaved head. "Who are you calling a princess?"

"Hm, I don't know. Maybe the one whose currently dating the master of this entire castle!" Kawahara gestured widely at their surroundings.

Seijuurou chuckled as they all went to take a seat in the living room. "I'm sure this isn't close to what a real castle is like, but I thank you for the compliment anyway."

"Ah, actually there's a movie room here that would be perfect to watch movies, but the the light from the large screen still effects my eyes and I was afraid I would get a headache. Hopefully watching in the living room is fine?" Kouki asked his friend, looking worried.

Kawahara waved off his apology as he assured the other that it was perfectly fine. "It's totally fine, dude. I mean, the comfort of watching movies in a living room just can't be beat."

Relaxing against the armchair he took up, Kawahara then sat up straight as he pointed a finger at Seijuurou. "And speaking of movies- YOU! I refuse to leave today without you knowing exactly what the Japanese pop culture is truly about!"

"Pop culture? I thought we we only focusing on its animation." Kouki reminded, slapping his friend's hand away from his mate.

Kawahara narrowed his eyes at them, his pupils burning with passion. "I will talk about everything. Anyone who dates you, Furi, needs my approval and-"

"Sei already has your approval though." Kouki interrupted, rolling his eyes at his dramatic friend.

"-and I can't approve anyone who doesn't even know about the wonders of Studio Ghibli!" Kawahara announced, not paying Kouki any mind.

Seijuurou, already used to his mate's friends, only smiled as he nodded his head. "I shall look forward to being properly educated then."

The three chatted for a bit before the doorbell rang again. "That must be Fukuda." Kouki commented.

The same butler from before came back and informed the group that their other guests have arrived. "Guests?" Kouki looked confused. They were only expecting one more guest.

Suddenly Fukuda came into the room...holding the hand of a girl who looked to be around the same age as them, maybe a bit older.

"Hey, guys. Sorry we're late." Fukuda greeted them apologetically.

Kawahara snapped out of his shocked stupor and pointed a shaky finger at the girl beside the beta. "W-w-who...?!" He was wide-eyed, unable to speak straight.

"Ah. So yeah, I'm sorry for not telling you guys till now but...I kinda got a girlfriend." Fukuda announced shyly, giving them all a sheepish look. "We've been dating for three weeks now."

The girlfriend gave them a big wave as she introduced herself, grinning widely. "Hiya! My name's Tanaka Saeko. It's nice to meet you all!"

Saeko looked to be a few years older than them but she was very pretty and looked to be friendly. She had a slender body with a large bust that rivaled Momoi's. She was much shorter than any of them (they were all wearing house slippers). Her dyed honey-blonde hair came up to her chin and her short blunt cut bangs emphasized her slightly-slanted eyes.

She was dressed like a yankee- dark jeans with a belt, a black top that showed off her midriff and cleavage, and a red and black leather jacket with studded metal spikes and multiple piercings on her ears.

All in all, Kouki could see why Fukuda was dating her- the beta's type has always been someone who was interesting.

Kouki smiled as he greeted her and introduced everyone. "It's nice to meet you, Tanaka-san, I'm Furihata Kouki and this is my bond mate, Akashi Seijuurou. And that guy over there who's trying to catch flies with his mouth is Kawahara Koichi." The brunette pointed to Kawahara, who was staring at the girl in open-mouthed disbelief.

Saeko chortled when she glanced at Kawahara before looking back at Kouki. "Just call me Saeko-chan or even 'nee' since you guys must see me as pretty old, huh?" She said wistfully.

Kouki frowned as he shook his head. "No way. You look like you're in college, but that definitely doesn't mean that you look old or anything. If any, you look very youthful, Saeko-chan." Kouki assured her.

Saeko squealed as she rushed to give Kouki a big hug, squishing his face between her ample breasts. Seijuurou and Fukuda quickly rushed to pull the girl away, making a reminder about the brunette's still-healing injuries. "Oops, sorry. But Hiroshi has told me so much about you all and he's right- you really are an angel. Thank you so much for the compliment!" She said happily at the omega.

Kouki chuckled as he relaxed into his mate's arms, giving Seijuurou's hand a squeeze to assure the other that he was fine, "It's the truth, Saeko-chan. But you're welcome." While being hugged, Kouki made note that the girl smelled like an alpha, which he knew would compliment someone like Fukuda well.

Saeko clapped her hands as she looked around the room, "And man, this place is so awesome! I've never been inside a mansion before!"

"Thank you, Saeko-chan. I'm glad you like the house." Seijuurou nodded.

Saeko shook her head. "Not house- a mansion! This is yours, right? You're that heir that I've seen on the news a few times. This place really is WOW." She said, looking around the entire room. She grinned at her boyfriend and gave him a light punch on the arm (well, it was supposed to be light but Fukuda made a noise as he rubbed his arm a bit). "My boyfriend sure knows quite a few high-end people, ne?"

Fukuda blushed as he held onto her waist. "I only know Akashi and it's only because of Furi that we became friends." He told her gently.

"How did you two meet?" Kouki asked them, looking curiously.

Seijuurou lightly took Kouki's hand and pulled him towards the couch. "Why don't we all sit down first and then continue our conversation?" He suggested.

They went into the living room with Kouki and Seijuurou occupying the couch while Fukuda and Saeko took up the rather spacious loveseat nearby.

"So, you two met three weeks ago?" Kouki asked, cuddling next to his alpha as Seijuurou wrapped his arms around him.

Fukuda blushed as he nodded, his arm lightly wrapped around his own alpha beside him. "Yeah. After visiting you while you were still in a coma, Kawahara went to visit one of his relatives in Kyoto while I decided to go back to Tokyo.

"But I ended up taking the wrong train home and ended up going to a place called Miyagi instead. It was pretty late so the trains weren't running anymore. Not knowing what to do since I didn't have much money on me, I decided to get some dinner first while I thought about what my game plan would be." Fukuda explained.

Saeko decided to continue. "Hiroshi here ended up eating at the place where I work- Karasuno Kitchen. I noticed a beta giving off a worried scent while eating our meat buns and asked him if he had a problem with our food. When he told me what his problem was, I offered him to stay at my place. My younger bro and pops were home so it was all innocent." She gave them a wink.

"And I guess that was what started everything. When I found out that he was 18 and legal and since I'm only older by three years, I figured it'd be okay to go for it. We both agreed that we were feeling each other and he got along with my parents and he even got Ryu's approval...it was meant to be." She grinned at her boyfriend as Fukuda smiled happily back at her.

Kouki sighed as he watched them exchange a kiss together. "That's really sweet. I guess there was something good that came out of my accident after all."

When Seijuurou's arm around him tightened, Kouki immediately sent out his soothing omega pheromones and gave his mate an apologetic kiss on the lips. "But of course, I don't ever want it to happen again." He added. The grip on his waist lessened but Seijuurou began to nuzzle into his neck- Kouki let him and didn't even feel any embarrassment from the public display like he usually would.

Thankfully the other couple didn't make any comment as Saeko began to speak again, "Hey. I've been wondering this for a while, but isn't your other friend gonna join us?" She asked, gesturing towards Kawahara who was still standing near the doorway, frozen as a statue.

Kouki and Fukuda exchanged a look before Kouki sighed and called out, "Kawa! Stop standing around and get your butt here already- the pizza's getting cold and Sei needs to be educated about anime!"

That seemed to snap Kawahara out of his stupor.

"YOU!" The alpha yelled, pointing his finger at Fukuda.

Fukuda sighed, already knowing that this was gonna happen. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?!" Kawahara spluttered, rushing to where they were, his finger still pointing at Fukuda. "You went behind my back-"

"Not behind your back." Fukuda interrupted.

"-Behind my back!" Kawahara continued on, ignoring the interruption. "And got a girlfriend, a VERY HOT girlfriend-"

"Aw, thank you!" Saeko grinned, very happy.

"-and now that you and Furi are dating, that just leaves me as the last man standing, the single man without a plan-" Kawahara continued on.

"Forever alone and with a groan~" Kouki added cheekily, making Fukuda snort in laughter.

"-I can't believe this! I haven't hurt this much since I was younger and sick in the hospital. No! Actually, this is worse. I couldn't hurt more even if you grabbed a knife and stabbed me with it- STAB ME WITH IT!" Kawahara pounded his chest as if he were actually being stabbed.

"I'm pretty sure that would hurt more though..." Fukuda trailed off. "But anyway, Furi was the first one of us to date. Hell, he's already bonded remember?"

Kouki made a indignant noise, grabbing a piece of popcorn and throwing it at Fukuda. "Don't bring me into this, Fuku! Besides, I already got crap from him before when I first told you guys I got bonded. Now it's your time to suffer."

"I'm gonna die alone!" Kawahara moaned, sinking slowly onto the soft, carpeted floor.

"No you're not." Kouki assured him. "You might die in an explosion with many people inside, so you won't be alone then."

"And I'm sure there'll some nice, understanding, maybe slightly desperate girl who'll fall for you one day." Fukuda added.

"And if you're still alone, you'll always have us plus Sei and Saeko-chan too." Kouki gave his alpha friend a sweet smile.

"Yeah, when we get married and have kids, you'll be the cool and weird Uncle Kawahara who visits every other day to raid our fridges." Fukuda began to bounce off popcorn off his fallen friend's head, noting his shaved head made a nice trampoline for the popcorn.

"Living with his seven cats while yelling at the children trespassing on his sidewalk to get off your property." Kouki gave the depressed alpha sympathetic pats on the back- though both his hands were occupied by his mate so he had to use his foot instead.

"You guys remind me of my little brother when he's with his friends." Saeko pointed out, looking amused at the trio.

Seijuurou furrowed his eyebrows as looked a bit confused. "I'm sorry, but you three are on friendly terms, right?"

Kouki beamed as he nodded his head, still patting his depressed friend reassuringly with his foot. "Yup! Their the bestest friends I ever had- they're like brothers to me."

Fukuda nodded in agreement. "Yeah, there's nothing to worry about Akashi. Like if any of us killed someone, the other two would automatically ask where the other wants to bury the body. We have a TRUE friendship- none of that superficial stuff."

"How long have you three been friends?" Saeko asked. Seijuurou also looked curious since he hadn't really thought about it before.

"This is...our third year together, right?" Fukuda looked questioningly at the brunette.

Kouki nodded. "We met during our freshmen year."

Seijuurou looked surprised at this. "I would have thought you three were friends for much longer- being as close as you all are."

Kouki smiled as he patted his mate's arm lightly. "Friendship isn't about who you've known the longest. It's about who walked into your life and said, "I'm here for you" and proved it." He said. "And I know that these two would go to hell and back for me- just like I would for them.

After the two finished teasing their fellow best friend, they offered Kawahara to sit with them but the alpha refused, wanting to mope on the floor alone (but in fairness, the carpet was very soft and the alpha found it quite relaxing to lay down on it).

"So, Kawahara bought a large meat lovers pizza and I made some spicy green tea popcorn and some popcorn milkshakes." Kouki gestured towards the food on the table. Thankfully, there was plenty of food to share and he had made extra milkshakes so Saeko got to have one as well.

"I've never had popcorn milkshakes before- they're amazing!" Saeko complimented, taking a loud sip of her drink.

"I'm glad you like it. It was actually Fukuda's idea before to add popcorn into it." Kouki admitted, taking a bite of his pizza.

"We also brought some homerun ice cream bars- we got chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavor. The butler told us he would place them in the fridge to firm up a bit." Fukuda told them.

"Ooh, I want the chocolate one." Kawahara spoke up, throwing popcorn in the air and catching at least 75% of them in his mouth.

"I would like strawberry." Kouki added shyly.

Seijuurou smiled as he pressed a button on the remote he had, alerting one of the maids to come by and ask what they would like. The redhead then asked her to bring in the ice cream (with Saeko and Kawahara totally excited by seeing a real life maid, just like how they freaked over the butler from before).

As all the food were finally there, Saeko spoke up, "So what movies are we watching tonight?"

"Kawa was the one to choose the movies this time." Fukuda answered.

Kawahara sat up from his lying position and pounded his fists in the air. "That's right! So, Akashi! Furi told me that you have no clue what Studio Ghibli is and that you've only watched Spirited Away just weeks ago."

"Eh? No way!" Saeko looked surprised at this as she turned towards the redhead. "You've never watched Ponyo or Howl's Moving Castle before?" She looked amazed.

Seijuurou looked clueless at the titles as he shook his head. Kouki was the one to defend him, saying, "His family wanted him to focus on his studies, music and stuff like that. They were kinda strict so Sei never really got to watch stuff like anime." He explained.

Saeko nodded in understanding. "Ah, ok I see. I also wasn't that much into anime before neither- but my little brother and his friends always wanted me to bring them to watch Dragonball Z and stuff so I kinda got into it too."

Kawahara nodded, crossing his arms across his chest. "But now that you're dating our Furi, I just cannot let you go on without knowing what Studio Ghibli is and watching at least ten of their movies." The alpha told the redhead seriously.

"Ten?" Fukuda raised his eyebrow. "We only have a day, you know."

"We'll do this little by little." Kawahara assured them. "Now, before watching the movies, let me give you a brief introduction about Japanese pop culture."

"'Brief' huh?" Fukuda snorted. "I highly doubt that."

"Japanese pop culture?" Seijuurou actually looked interested at this.

Kouki frowned. "I thought you were only going to explain about anime."

Kawahara shook his head. "Anime is a part of the Japanese pop culture and I want to do this right. Besides, your mate is Japanese Furi- and japanese people need to know about these kinds of things! I mean, it's just Japanese common sense to know about Perfume, AKB48, PPAP!"

Kouki snorted as he chewed on his popcorn. "PPAP doesn't even fit into that group."

"PPAP?" Seijuurou repeated, confused.

"Pen Pineapple Apple Pen!" Kawahara said in exasperation, shaking his head mournfully as he took out his phone.

After playing the short one minute clip, the look of confusion on the redhead's face was still there. "And this...is popular?" Seijuurou said awkwardly.

"Yes." Kawahara nodded, looking very serious. "Stuff like this is what makes Japan the great nation we are today."

"I whole-heartedly disagree with that statement." Fukuda raised his hand like a student in class while Kouki hid his face in a pillow, giggling uncontrollably.

"Shh! Don't mock our culture!" Kawahara scolded. "Besides, this is my lesson not yours, so hush! Anyway, let's start from the top!"

"Japanese pop culture (Japanese popular culture) is a phrase that refers to the elements of 'modern Japan' rather than the elements of 'traditional Japan'. Some of the elements of Japanese pop culture that are well known around the world include: Anime, Cosplay, Japanese contemporary art, Japanese fashion, Japanese movies, Japanese television, Japanese music like JPop and JRock, Manga, and Visual kei.

"Japanese Pop Culture is a highly influential combination of film, television, manga, and pop music throughout the world. Dating back to the early manga and films of the 1950s, the Japanese pop culture movement has taken off since the 1980s and 90s to become one of the most influential sources of entertainment in the world.

"Modern Japanese pop culture is not exclusive to the contemporary as most of the themes and styles of production are drawn from artistic and literary traditions that date back as far as the Heian Period of Japanese history and the earliest representations of imagery and imperial romance recorded then. However, with the advent of western influence, the ethos of the second world war and the industrialization of the nation, pop culture took its current form.

"Today, pop culture is used as an escape from the busy-ness and stress of everyday life with more than 90% of all Japanese men and women saying they spend at least 2 hours a day watching television and almost 20% saying they spend almost the same amount of time engaged in hobbies. Other factors in the development of pop culture was the strict working society aspect of Japanese life that sees many citizens seeking release as well as the time and sedentary nature of transportation on trains and subways that gives so many Japanese people time to read manga, using their mobile phones, or watch portable movies." Kawahara paused in his explanation to take a breath.

"I repeat. Brief?" Fukuda looked at his friend pointedly.

Seijuurou's looked at the shaved-headed alpha, impressed. "That knowledge was quite fascinating." He commented. Saeko was also listening in, looking interested as well.

"What's fascinating is how Kawa managed to memorize all of that but still forgets to lock his door before leaving the house." Fukuda whispered to Kouki, with the brunette nodding in agreement.

"ANYWAY, we'll be focusing specifically on Japanese animation today." Kawahara continued on, ignoring his two best friends.

"Anime is the style of animation popular in Japanese films and shows we watch today. Today we'll talk about the movies since watching a whole season of anime shows like One Piece or Naruto will take forever." Kawahara pointed out.

"So early anime films were intended primarily for the Japanese market and, as such, employed many cultural references unique to Japan. For example, the large eyes of anime characters are commonly perceived in Japan as multifaceted 'windows to the soul'. Much of the genre is aimed at children, but anime films are sometimes marked by adult themes and subject matter.

"Modern anime began in 1956 and found lasting success in 1961 with the establishment of Mushi Productions by Osamu Tezuka, a leading figure in modern 'manga'- which is the dense, novelistic Japanese comic book style that contributed greatly to the aesthetic of anime.

"Anime such Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke (1997) are the modern equivalent of the epic folk adventures once filmed by Japanese masters such as Mizoguchi Kenji and Kurosawa Akira. At the turn of the 21st century, anime began to attain wide international popularity with the Pokémon television series and films such as Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2002), which won an Academy Award for best animation film.

"Speaking of Miyazaki Hayao, he together with Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki and Yasuyoshi Tokuma are the founders of Studio Ghibli which is one, if not the, best Japanese animation film studios in the Japan, or even the world. The name Ghibli was given by Miyazaki Hayao from the Italian noun 'Ghibli' which is based on the Libyan-Arabic name for the 'hot desert wind' of that country, the idea being the studio would 'blow a new wind through the anime industry'.

"And it didn't just blow a wind, it created a whole tsunami! The studio is best known for its anime feature films, and has also produced several short films, television commercials, and one television film. It was founded on June 15, 1985 and some of its most famous movies that they created were Castle in the sky, Grave of the fireflies, The Secret life of Arrietty, Kiki's Delivery Service and of course their biggest hit, Spirited Away." Kawahara took another breath, bowing his head as he finished his lengthy explanation.

"Yosh! Go Kawahara-sensei!" His two friends cheered, clapping their hands and whistling.

"Wow, you really know your stuff, huh?" Saeko also clapped, looking impressed.

Seijuurou absorbed everything he had learned as he nodded his head. "Your lesson was very enlightening, Kawahara. So we will be watching a film from Studio Ghibli, I presume?"

Kawahara nodded his head as he reached over and took out the DVD's he brought in his bag. "Yup! I brought three movies for us to watch today. All in all, they should take about four and half hours which I think is a reasonable length to watch for one day."

The others nodded in agreement. "So which ones are we watching?" Fukuda asked, looking at the DVD's in Kawahara's hands.

"The first one we'll watch is a Studio Ghibli film, of course! Now I thought about choosing something like Grave of the Fireflies or Princess Mononoke, but due to recent events," Kawahara patted Kouki's foot lightly, reminding everyone of the omega's recent accident, "I thought that we should try to avoid anything involving too much blood or were too depressing and dark. So I chose 'My Neighbor Totoro'." He held up the familiar blue DVD.

"After that, I decided to go with something fun again but this movie's really a classic in the anime world- so we're all gonna watch Pokémon: The First Movie." Kawahara held up the next DVD. "And there's a scene in here that if you don't cry while watching it, then you're not a decent human being."

"I didn't cry during it." Fukuda pointed out.

"Well, I already knew that you weren't a decent human being, like getting a girlfriend and leaving me being the only single man in the group." Kawahara snapped, yelping when a pillow hit him square on the face.

Pouting, Kawahara stuck his tongue out as he snuggled with the thrown pillow. "And the last movie we'll be watching is the most recent one to come out and it has been named as the most highest grossing film in Japan- Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name). This film even beat the invincible Spirited Away!"

"I really like that movie- I especially like the ending." Kouki said, feeding popcorn to his mate.

Finally, the first movie began to play and everyone focused on the television, watching the beginning scene where an older man with his two daughters move into an old house to be closer to the hospital where their mother is at.

"So, there are creatures in this film?" Seijuurou asked, watching as the little girl notices two white, rabbit-like ears in the grass and follows the ears under the house.

"They're more like spirits." Kouki corrected, sipping his shake as he stared at the screen with wide eyes.

"Is that the main forest spirit? That cat-like creature?" Seijuurou asked again as a little girl, with her sleeping sister on her back, offered the strange forest spirit her extra umbrella.

"Yup, that's Totoro." Kouki told him, nodding.

"Isn't he from those cream puffs that you made before?" The redhead asked his mate, wiping his hands after consuming his slice of pizza.

"Yup." The omega nodded, reaching for another slice for them both.

"I always thought Totoro looked more like a bunny than a cat to be honest." Saeko pointed out, licking her strawberry ice cream.

"I kinda think he looks more like a big rat actually." Fukuda admitted, leaning back in the loveseat to get more comfortable.

"No way, he's definitely not a rat!" Saeko argued.

"Maybe like a bunny-cat-rat-plus bear hybrid?" Kouki mused.

"Shhh! Quit talking and focus on the movie you guys!" Kawahara shushed them, giving them a dirty look before facing the screen again.

Everyone was quiet as they finished the first movie. As the credits rolled, the group called for a quick bathroom break.

Returning back from the bathroom, Seijuurou and Kouki stayed standing for a while to stretch out their legs as they waited for the others to return to begin the next movie.

"So how did you like the first movie?" Kouki asked, straightening the couch pillows.

Seijuurou straightened the snacks on the table and answered, "I enjoyed it. I can understand how these type of movies could be so popular. Especially among younger children." The redhead picked up some of the popcorn that spilled over. "And I enjoyed the ending. I'm happy that the mother's illness wasn't too serious and that she managed to pull through in the end."

Kouki paused in fixing the couch and looked to see the sad smile on his mate's face. Putting the pillow down, Kouki walked towards his mate and wrapped his arms around the other, feeling his mate also return his hug. "Akashi-mama would be so proud of you right now, you know that right?"

Seijuurou smiled as he gave him a light kiss, once again feeling grateful to have such a caring mate like Kouki. "I know. Even though my own mother may not have been as lucky as the mother from the movie, I'm sure she still had her happy ending with my father. And that is what really matters."

"And don't forget, she also had you." Kouki reminded him. "With both you and your father with her, I'm sure Akashi-mama got her happily ever after in the end."

They both smiled at one another as they leaned closer to share a sweet kiss. As they kissed, they suddenly heard a coughing sound behind them, forcing them to break apart.

Kawahara stood in front of them, giving them an unamused look. "I'm still single. So give me some pity and don't make out while I'm here, please?"

Kouki blushed a hot red as Seijuurou gave a cough. "Sorry, Kawahara."

When the other couple came in, they started the second movie of the day.

"What exactly are 'Pokémon?" Seijuurou once again asked, watching as the two groups of Pokemon began to compete against each other in various sports.

"Pokémon are a group of creatures that live in a special place made up of different lands or regions. Pokémon basically stands for 'pocket monsters' because they're like monsters that people can capture using something called a pokéball and then they can store those pokéballs in their pockets." Kouki explained.

Seijuurou frowned. "So they're like trapped animals?"

Kouki shook his head. "Not exactly. Kinda like one's pet or friend or something similar to that. And there are some Pokémon who doesn't want to be captured so they can break free from the pokéball- those Pokémon would be called 'wild' then." Kouki told him.

The alpha looked thoughtful. "I see."

During the scene where the scientists were talking to a mysterious guy about their Pokémon clones, Seijuurou spoke up again. "So they tried to create their own Pokémon." He commented.

Kouki absently played with the straw of his shake as he automatically replied, "No, you cannot create your own Pokémon, Sei."

Seijuurou raised his eyebrow as he looked at his mate. "I wasn't insinuating that I was interested in doing so, Kouki."

Kouki looked away from the movie and gave his mate a knowing look. "Sure, you weren't."

When they watched the scene where the main character chased after his Pokémon, leading them into the cloning room, Seijuurou said, "Kouki-"

"No, Sei." Kouki replied immediately, not even bothering to look at the other.

As the screen showed all the Pokémon clones battling against their originals, Fukuda was the one to speak up this time, "You know Akashi, if you do decide to create your own Pokémon and need a co-partner to help you out, then I would gladly offer my ser-ack!" The beta was interrupted when a pillow was suddenly thrown straight smack on his face.

Kouki merely licked his strawberry ice cream bar, never once looking away from the screen before them.

On the screen, the main character sacrificed himself and ended up being turned to stone. All the Pokémon- both originals and clones- were shedding tears for him.

And they weren't the only ones shedding tears.

"Can you cry a little quieter? I can't hear the movie." Fukuda sighed at Kawahara. His own girlfriend was also tearing up at the scene, but at least she wasn't wailing loudly like a certain alpha on the floor was.

"Whhhyyyy? Oh Ash, whhhhyyy? Huhuhuhu..." Kawahara sobbed, with snot dripping down and all.

"Are you alright, love?" Seijuurou asked his mate quietly, lightly brushing away the tears that were falling from his own mate's eyes.

Kouki sniffled, nodding his head but not saying a word as he watched as all the Pokémon's tears gathered together and managed to resurrect the main character back to his original state.

"You. Guys. Are. Not. Human!!!" Kawahara screeched, still sobbing as he glared at both Fukuda and Seijuurou.

Fukuda only rolled his eyes. "No, we're human. But I guess we're not really 'decent' ones." The beta smirked as he exchanged a wink with Seijuurou.

Seijuurou chuckled as he turned to give a fond look towards his mate, focusing more on wiping away his omega's tears rather than watch the rest of the movie.

As the movie ended, the three were thankfully no longer crying anymore. "That scene always gets to me." Kouki sighed, allowing his bond mate to wipe up his eyes with a handkerchief.

"I'm gonna use the restroom again before we start the last movie." Saeko said, with her boyfriend saying he'll go also.

When the pair left with the maid (the mansion was so big that they needed help to find the bathroom) Kouki sighed as he hugged one of the couch pillows to his chest while Seijuurou stood up to stretch his legs again. The butler came in and cleaned up their remaining food while a maid brought some hot tea and water for them to enjoy as they watched the last film.

"Did you guys like the movie?" Kawahara asked, lying on his back on the floor, looking completely relaxed and free from all troubles.

"I loved it- I always do." Kouki nodded, remembering how he would always rewatch the movie whenever it showed on tv when he was younger.

Seijuurou nodded too. "I enjoyed the movie as well. It's intriguing to see a world that's so different from the one we live in."

Kawahara looked happy that the movies he chose so far were hits with everyone.

As they started the final movie, Saeko asked Kawahara if he was really fine being on the floor.

"I'm good, don't worry. Besides, this is my one-man paradise. No couples allowed." He narrowed his eyes specifically at his so-called best friends, making both boys grin back at him.

At the first switch between the two main characters, everyone was quieter this time as they watched all the events unfold.

There was something about the movie that just pulled the watcher in and made them interested in seeing what would happen next.

Yes, if you really thought about it, the storyline was a bit on the predictable side- meaning that the watcher would have a slight idea on how the plot would go and might even have an inkling on what the ending would be.

But even when Seijuurou had already guessed how the whole movie would end, there was just something about the movie- may it be the characters, the artwork or even the story itself- that kept him interested enough to keep watching till the end.

When the main characters finally meet, Seijuurou felt sadness when the couple was immediately separated and the alpha even felt a bit of frustration mixed with fondness when it was found out that the boy had not written his name on the girl's palm but instead the words, 'I Love You'.

Such a foolish boy. Doing such a foolish but sweet gesture at the very end.

As the movie ended with the girl and the boy, now in the present time, meeting together once more and asking for the other's name, Seijuurou sighed as hugged his mate closer to him as they laid down on the couch. "This movie reminded me of something that happened back at the hospital." The redhead told his mate quietly.

Kouki turned around in the alpha's embrace and looked at him curiously. "Really? Like what?"

Seijuurou gently brushed away a strand of hair that fallen onto the other's forehead as he confessed softly, "I had a dream once, that you had woken up with amnesia and had forgotten me. Afterwards, you were like your old self and avoided me. You wanted nothing to do with me and in the end, you chose to be with someone else." He said sadly.

Kouki gave him a fond smile as he leaned up and gave him a sweet, lingering kiss. Pulling away slowly, Kouki smiled at his alpha. "Even if I had forgotten you, I'm certain that I would just end up falling in love with you all over again. Because as long as you stay by my side, I know that I'll always want you." The brunette said, his voice full of nothing but confidence. "We're just meant to be."

Seijuurou grinned as he leaned down to give his mate an even deeper kiss this time.

Pulling away from one another once more, Kouki sighed as he looked up at the alpha. "So, was there anything else that happened at the hospital that I should know about?" He raised an eyebrow.

Seijuurou shook his head as he chuckled. "Other than observing your lovely sleeping face, finally seeing your beautiful brown eyes awake once more, proposing to you, seeing you cutely trying not to move too much without aggravating your injuries-"

"Proposal?" Fukuda voice suddenly sounded out. The couple in the couch paused in their private conversation as they looked at the pair who were also cuddled up in the loveseat beside them. Fukuda was looking at them with wide eyes. "Akashi proposed to you?" He asked Kouki.

Kouki blushed as he looked down. "Um, well, yeah but-"

"What?!" Fukuda interrupted sitting up looking completely shocked. He had thought he had misheard, but apparently he had heard just fine.

"Whoa!" Saeko shouted, being jostled from her boyfriend's quick movement. Fukuda quickly apologized to her as he looked back at Kouki with wide eyes.

"What's up?" Kawahara looked away from the rolling credits as he looked at what all the commotion was about.

"He's getting married." Fukuda told him, making Kouki choke out loud.

Kawahara only looked confused at that. "Married? Who's getting married?"

Fukuda pointed at Kouki's direction. "Furi. Akashi proposed to him."

Kawahara gasped loudly as he stood straight up, face hysterical with shock. "WHAT?! Akashi proposed to you?! When?! How?! Now? Oh my god!"

Kouki was panicking as he shook his head frantically. Saeko sat by, watching everything with wide eyes. And Seijuurou was trying to calm his mate as he tried to explain things but the two friends were talking over him.

"I call best man!" They both yelled, giving the other a dirty glare.

"I'm his best friend so I should be his best man!" Kawahara insisted.

"No you're not- I'm his best friend and I'm taller than you!" Fukuda argued.

"What does height matter?! Besides, you already have a girlfriend- I have nothing! Best man is the only thing I got going for me right now!" Kawahara started sobbing as he shook his head mournfully. "Oh my god, one of my friends got a sexy girlfriend while the other one is getting married...and I'm still all alone. Ugh, gods why? Don't I deserve love too?!"

As his friends continued arguing, Kouki finally got his wits together as he shouted, "None of you guys are gonna be my best man cause I'm not getting married!"

Kawahara looked confused, "Wait, you're not?"

Fukuda frowned as he looked at the brunette. "But I heard you guys talking about a proposal."

"There was. A proposal, I mean." Kouki corrected. "Sei proposed to me back at the hospital but I said no."

There was total silence in the room for a long moment.

It was finally broken when Kawahara let out a deep sigh and walked up to the couch as he gave Seijuurou a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "There's always other fish in the sea, man. Be strong."

"Ah..." Seijuurou trailed off, feeling awkward by the pitiful look Kawahara was giving him.

Kouki rolled his eyes as he slapped Kawahara's hand away from his mate. "We didn't break up, idiot. I still love him and we are bonded, remember?"

Saeko was the one to ask, "Excuse me, but like you said, you two are already bonded right? So why would you say no to his proposal?" She asked politely, eyes shining in curiousity.

Kouki sighed again as he leaned into his mate's embrace once more before telling them what had happened that day of the proposal, "Well..."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Sei..." The omega reached up to give his alpha's hand a small squeeze.

"I'm sorry...but no. I won't marry you."

As soon as Kouki saw the hurt look cross his alpha's face, the omega immediately held his hands up- hissing when he twisted his right shoulder in the process- as he began to explain. "Sei, it's not that I don't EVER want to marry you...because I do." He said quickly.

Seijuurou paused in helping his mate with his injured shoulder to look at the omega with confused but hopeful eyes. "Really?"

Kouki sighed as he nodded his head (slowly, as he remembered that he was recovering from a head injury), "I really do. OF COURSE I DO. I could vomit blood and cry joy to the heavens if I ever became your husband. I would be honored to marry you, Sei. Please believe me." He looked at the other with pleading eyes.

The alpha looked even more confused than before, "If you do want to marry me, then why did you just reject my proposal?" The other questioned, a very vulnerable look in his eyes as he asked this.

Kouki cuddled closer to his mate, looking directly into the other's red eyes as he made sure that he had the alpha's full attention as he explained, "I want to say yes to your proposal...but not when we're in a hospital and not when I'm recovering from an almost-death experience.

"Sei, I...I can't help but to think that you proposing to me here and now is just because you feel like I'm gonna go away if we don't get married. If you don't tie us together in every way possible. I also can't help but think that maybe you might feel guilty about the accident that maybe that's why-"

Seijuurou began to get riled up as he quickly interrupted, "If you think that I am proposing to you because of that-"

Kouki shook his head- slowly- as he reached up to take his mate's hands in his own. "No. No, that's not it at all Sei. What I mean is, even though I know that your intentions are good, but I just can't help that irritating little voice in my head that tells me that you're only proposing to me because of guilt or because you might lose me if we don't marry now." He confessed.

"Kouki-" The redhead said warningly.

Kouki shook his head a bit harder, still being very careful not to aggravate his head injury, as he gave his mate an apologetic smile. "No, I really do know Sei. My heart knows that you're proposing to me because you love me and not because of guilt or whatever. My heart knows...but sometimes my mind just....thoughts come in that make me doubt myself and I don't want that to happen.

"These thoughts...there are these thoughts that still creep into my mind from time to time that tell me that you're THE Akashi Seijuurou and I'm just...me. Only Kouki. I-"

Seijuurou interrupted again, giving the other a stern look although he himself had a very pained expression on his face. "Kouki, we've discussed this many times before. Myself, my father, all our friends, everyone who had ever had the privilege of meeting you...we all know and can see what an extraordinary person you are-"

"I KNOW!" Kouki cried. "I know, I know, I KNOW. I know how much you all care and love me and how some people actually do look up to me like my teammates and not like the trash my mind sometimes whispers to me that I am. I know. But I can't help my thoughts. I...you know my anxiety and self esteem issues and that when it gets bad enough, that no amount of medication will ever rid of that kind of thinking completely. It'll always be there." He sobbed, feeling very overwhelmed.

"Oh, love. Calm down." Seijuurou cooed, wiping up his mate's tears. He gently laid the other down in the bed as he brought his arms up and embraced his crying omega, letting the other get all of his feelings out. "You know me Kouki. I'm the first one who understands what it feels like to be helpless against a condition that you have no control over, even with the help of medication."

Kouki sniffled as he looked at his mate, "But when I'm with you, I don't hear those thoughts that crowd my head, that try to put me down. With you, I can see myself through your eyes and what an amazing person I really am. That I am good enough to stand by your side. Sei, you make me feel that I am just as extraordinary as you.

"I want to marry you. So much! When people say that we need to wait until we're older or accomplish our dreams first or until we make something of ourselves...that doesn't even pertain to us! We're already bonded, for god's sake! The day I agreed to be your mate was the day I WILLINGLY AND GLADLY allowed the rest of my life to be intertwined with yours. Even though we're not physically together all the time, we'll always be connected in a way that only you and I can ever be." Kouki sobbed, burrowing his face in the other's chest.

"Why should I wait until I'm older to marry you? We're already at the legal age to marry. Why should I have to wait until I accomplish my dreams? I can accomplish them with you by my side- heck! We're already going to the same university and we already have plans to live together- how would a marriage contract change any of that? Why should I have to wait until I make something of myself- make something like what? Become rich and famous? Win the Nobel prize? At this moment, I am Furihata Kouki and I think that I'm more than enough just the way I am. Of course, I'll always work hard to better myself but....waiting to marry you for reasons like that seem silly to me. Silly to us." Kouki pulled away and looked at the redhead with teary eyes.

"We're not normal, Sei. From a young age, I've had a life that made me have to grow up faster than normal kids. I've had to think with a mindset more mature than any kid should have to. But I needed to or I wouldn't have survived till now. And you, with your upbringing, you definitely had to grow up quickly too. We're not normal people. So I think it's okay if we don't go about things in the way that normal people do them. We got bonded at an early age. So what does getting married at an earlier age than normal make any difference? That's what I've always thought."

"So all of this is why this is so FRUSTRATING! I've always wondered what would happen if you propose to me and I've already readied myself to say yes. I really did. So why can't I do it now? Is it because of my current condition? Is it because the timing was off? Maybe it's because of the medication that I'm on that's messing with my judgement? Whatever the reason, when you asked me to marry you, my gut...no my heart, just told me no. Not right now. And because of this irritating feeling...I just couldn't say yes to you. And now, looking at your hurt expression...it makes me feel so horrible and worser than when I fell down those stairs." Seijuurou felt his heart hurt as he looked at how miserable his omega looked right now.

The redhead was silent as processed the large amount of information, his eyes focused on his mate's face as if searching for something.

Finally, Seijuurou sighed as he closed his eyes and leaned closer until his forehead was softly touching with the brunette's own. "Okay." He finally said.

Kouki stayed quiet, waiting for the alpha to say more.

Seijuurou spoke up, "So you do want to marry me. You are aware that my reasons for the proposal have nothing to do with any absurd feelings of guilt. And you don't care about us marrying early or what other people think or that we should wait until 'other people' say that we're 'ready'." He made quotation marks.

The omega nodded. "Yes." Was all he said.

"But even though you want to marry me, you can't say yes because there's just something inside of you that's telling you that it's just not the right time to say yes." Seijuurou continued.

When the omega nodded, Seijuurou said, "So, be it the situation or just wrong timing, together with the feeling of hesitation, these are the factors of why you rejected me. But you do want to marry me eventually."

Kouki nodded again. "When?" The redhead asked him.

"I'm not sure. Whether it's sooner or later...probably when I'm out of the hospital and fully recovered...and off all these medications. When I have a clearer mind and feel like I'm more in control over everything, then I'm confident that I'll say yes."

"So if I asked you again at the end of this year...?" Seijuurou trailed off.

"Maybe." Kouki shrugged, giving the other a small smile. "Honestly, I'm fine with marrying you anytime. But for now, I just need to be more....in control when you propose again. My mind is so chaotic right now that I can't think straight and I don't want to make any big decisions when I'm feeling like this."

Everything was quiet as Seijuurou thought things over while Kouki waited for what the other's decision would be.

Finally, Seijuurou hugged Kouki close as he leaned in to place a light kiss on the other's forehead. "I will admit that I'm still a bit hurt about your rejection. And it's terribly frustrating that we're not engaged right now. But I do understand where you are coming from. So, it's okay. Even if we're not engaged now, I still love you, Kouki. That will never stop." He assured him.

Kouki bit his lip to keep from crying again but a few tears ended up falling. "I love you too, Sei. And I really am sorry for saying no."

Seijuurou shushed him as he rubbed the other's side. "Don't be. I should be the one apologizing for making such a brash proposal."

"No, Sei." Kouki denied, placing another soft kiss on the other's lips. "You don't get to apologize neither. Your proposal was lovely- it's just the time and place that was a bit off. And my mind...all this medication is making my brain more than a bit off as well." Kouki gave him a sheepish smile.

Seijuurou, happy to see his mate smiling again, returned his smile, "But I should at least gotten you a ring when I proposed." He sighed regretfully.

Kouki gave him a fond look as he assured him, "I don't need a ring, Sei. Besides, I love the ring I gotten from you already." He pointed out, showing off the silver ring on his finger. "All I want is for some time. Even just until I fully recover would be enough. In the mean time, you should give it some thought too. To really think about if you really want to marry me- okay, wait, yes I know you do but please, just let me get this out- and think if you are truly ready for all the things that come with being my husband. And when you feel like you are and when the time and place is finally right...then I promise you that I will definitely say yes this time."

Seijuurou beamed, eyes full of love as he looked at his mate. "You promise? Even if I ask you the day after you recover, you'll say yes to my proposal?"

Kouki nodded as he leaned in for another kiss. "Yes, but will you really ask me the day after I fully recover?"

The alpha only grinned at that. "Although, I am more tempted to propose to you at a time where you'll be completely caught off guard." He pointed out.

Kouki raised an eyebrow at the other. "So a surprise proposal?"

Seijuurou gave him an impish smile. "It's a secret."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Awwww...." Saeko cooed, watching the couple on the couch smiling at one another.

"Okay, I kinda understand now." Fukuda agreed, knowing that what Kouki had done was for the best. "You're pretty confusing though, Furi.

Kouki looked down, bashful. "I'm sorry."

Fukuda waved it off, giving him a smile. "But it's fine. We still love you."

"I agree. Besides, my boy here needs a proper proposal and next time, there better be a ring, got it Akashi?" Kawahara raised his eyebrow at the redhead, though he had a large grin on his face as he looked at the couple. He only wanted nothing but happiness for his friends, especially Kouki.

Seijuurou smiled as he nodded, "Of course. I won't make the same mistake again."

Kouki groaned. "I already said I don't need a ring." He insisted.

"Hush, Furi. You deserve a diamond the size of a marble. A large marble." Kawahara emphasized.

"Okay, okay, let's stop talking about this now? It was hard enough the first time." Kouki shook his head at them all.

Kouki looked up at his mate and smiled. "So moving on...Sei, did you enjoy our little 'movie marathon'?" He questioned.

At everyone's gaze on him, Seijuurou gave a small smile as he nodded. "I have. Each of the movies that were chosen we quite enjoyable and I have learned quite a bit about our country's pop culture and animation. It was all very fascinating and I would love to do this again."

Everyone sighed in relief as Kawahara beamed with pride. "Hell yeah we can do it again! Next time, let's watch American cartoon movies next time. Or maybe we could do some non-animated Japanese movies this time. We can marathon the Bayside Shakedown series. Hey, Akashi! Which Bayside movie do you like best?"

At the blank look Seijuurou gave him, Kawahara's jaw dropped. "Wait, don't tell me you've never watched the movie before? Not even the sequel- that was number one highest grossing non-animated film in Japan!"

Kouki watched with a fond smile as Kawahara proceeded to give his mate another lecture about Japan's non-animated films this time while his mate listened carefully. The other couple was ignoring them all as they giggled to themselves, enjoying each other's company.

Kouki sighed as he cuddled up to his mate, smiling when he felt his alpha's lips on press softly on the top of his head.

As the brunette also tuned in to his friend's energetic lecture, he couldn't help but think about the next time his bond mate would bring up the topic of marriage and finally propose to him again.

Because this time, Kouki had no doubt that the answer then will be nothing but a big and resounding YES.


	21. Chapter 21

## A Green Tea Scone For Master

**The Day Before the Festival~**

  
"AHH!"

"You can do this!"

"HAAH...HAAH...AAHHHH!"

"It's almost there, come on hun, you can do it!!!"

"UGGHHHH....I CAN'T! TAKE IT OUT!"

"No! We're so close now. Do not let this defeat you!"

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Almost~!!'"

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Kouki gasped, giving up as he flopped over the teacher's desk, completely exhausted.

The class president, Nakagama Shiruko, frowned in disappointment as she looked down at him. "Well, if you just give up like that then of course it'll be impossible."

Kagami, who was together with some of the other guys in his class that were building the sign for the cafe, pointed his hammer at the president as he called out, "Oi, prez! Lay off Furi already! If he can't fit into the corset, then he can't."

"And he had just recovered from fracturing his ribs- I do not think it would be wise to continue further." Kuroko added, making several of their classmates shriek as they had forgotten that the blunette was there.

Shiruko pouted but nodded her head, apologizing to the panting omega. "I'm sorry, Furihata-kun. I forgot about your past injuries." Sighing loudly she said, "Fine. Let's go without the corset."

"I think it'll be fine- I'm sure Furi-kun will still look good even without it. He's slender and he'll look feminine in the dress." One of the other girls in his class commented.

Kouki sighed in relief as he got up and looked down at the outfit that they managed to force on him, shaking his head in horror.

If any of the Gods out there were listening right now, please let him find a way to prevent the rest of his friends and bond mate in seeing the monstrosity he was about to wear.

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

The Second Day of the Festival~

  
Like other schools, Seirin's Cultural Festival lasted for two days long. The first day was solely for the students and faculty members to enjoy themselves. But the second day was when the school opened it gates to the public.

Seijuurou leaned against the front gate, ignoring the whispers and squeals from people around him, as he waited for his other friends to arrive.

After a few minutes of waiting, he heard a familiar voice call his name. "Akashicchi!" The redhead smiled as he waved at the approaching group.

"Well, look who's here before the rest of us. This is a first." Aomine teased, though he was grinning as he said this. All the generation of miracles were there including Momoi, Takao, Himuro and Ootsubo Tae.

Seijuurou smiled as he nodded, swaying a bit by the blonde model and the pink-haired girl that was currently engulfing him in a large hug. "I found myself very excited in coming. Kouki has been so secretive regarding what his class was doing for the festival that it's left me curious and I have been looking forward to attending today."

"Taiga was the same!" Kagami's girlfriend, Tae, had tagged along with Midorima and Takao to visit Seirin's Cultural Festival to surprise her boyfriend. "He wouldn't tell me a thing about their theme and made me promise that I wouldn't visit today." She shook her head, sighing. "So of course, I just had to come."

"That's right- if Taiga says we shouldn't come, then it's all the more reason that we should." Himuro, Kagami's 'brother' and a beta, smiled gently.

"Ne, Muro-chin. Let's buy that." Murasakibara pouted at his boyfriend as he eyed a nearby stall selling choco bananas.

Himuro chuckled as he patted his boyfriend's lower back before taking his arm and pulled the tall boy away from all the food stalls. "Let's visit Taiga's classroom first and then we can buy whatever food you want later." He assured the other.

Murasakibara didn't look happy but nodded anyway. "Okay, Muro-chin."

"So does anyone know which classroom they're at?" Takao asked, clinging onto his own boyfriend happily. Midorima frowned, but didn't seem to mind too much since he hasn't shove the other off him yet.

"Hm? Isn't that Akashi and...eh? The generation of miracles too?" The group turned and saw Kouki's best friends, Kawahara and Fukuda, walking towards them.

"Yo! It's been a while!" Kawahara grinned as he waved at him.

"Welcome to Seirin's cultural festival." Fukuda greeted, smiling gently at them all.

"Oh, you're Furi's friends, right?" Takao grinned at them back. "Nice outfits by the way." The two boys were currently dressed in a wacky but fun style- they wore regular jeans and a shirt, but added on suspenders, big bow ties, funky hats, enormous sized sunglasses, stickers on their cheeks and Kawahara had on a big, fluffy afro wig on.

"Yup, I'm Kawahara and this is Fukuda." The alpha gestured towards them. "And thanks. Our class is hosting a photo booth so you guys should visit and take some wacky photos there." He handed them some flyers as he said this.

Fukuda nodded as he gestured towards the sign they both held up, "The photo booth's at Class 3-C. Feel free to drop by- it's especially popular with the women." He pointed out.

Momoi and Tae indeed looked very excited as they squealed to each other about visiting.

Seijuurou smiled as he nodded. "Then we shall drop by later. But could you two direct us towards Kouki's classroom? I'm most interested in visiting him first."

The redhead watched as Kawahara and Fukuda exchanged a wide grin as Fukuda replied, "Of course you're here to see Furi. And I'm guessing that he hasn't told you what his class was doing, correct?"

When the redhead shook his head, both boys grinned even wider. "Oh-ho! Well, let me tell you that you're gonna LOVE what Furi's class is doing. Oh, and Kagami and Kuroko are also in the same class and let me tell ya...it's pretty interesting."

"Really?" Kise asked, looking excited as listened to what the two boys were saying.

Fukuda nodded. "Yup. In fact, their class is one of the most popular here to visit."

"Ooh, really? What are they doing?" Momoi asked, also excited.

"They're doing a cafe." Fukuda answered, smiling mysteriously.

Aomine snorted at that. "A cafe? Isn't that kinda boring? Everyone does a cafe during the cultural festival."

Kawahara and Fukuda exchanged another secretive smile as Kawahara replied, "Oh, their cafe is a bit...different than your usual one. Trust me, you guys will love it." He assured them.

He then turned towards Seiuurou to give the fellow alpha a wink. "Especially you, Akashi. We're sure that you'll be blown away when you see what Furi's dressed in."

Seijuurou tilted his head, observing that information, "Kouki is dressed up?"

Kawahara nodded, smirking. "Oh yeah. Because you see, their cafe has a certain theme."

Fukuda nodded. "Yup, but we won't say what it is. You'll all just have to see it for yourselves."

"Okay. Well, can you guys bring us to their classroom then? We don't really know what room they're at." Takao asked, a little impatient to see the cafe now.

Fukuda give them an apologetic look as he told them, "I'm sorry, but Kawa and I have to stay here and hand out flyers for our classroom. But the guys are in Class 3-B and their room is right next to ours on the second floor, far right side of the building."

"There's a huge line there (with mostly girls) so I don't think you can miss it." Kawahara assured them.

The two boys waved at them goodbye as the group made their way towards Class 3-B.

There were plenty of people roaming around, looking at each class in excitement. Seirin, being quite a new school, had new up-to-date facilities and it was brightly decorated with colorful streamers and posters all around.

There was a good variety of different booths that each class hosted- including a haunted house, a karaoke room, a room selling many random knickknacks (Takao promised his boyfriend that they'll visit there afterwards) and many of the classes were hosting various games to enjoy.

Each classroom seemed to have a decent number of visitors, but Seijuurou noted that there were no cafes in the area- he guessed that other than Class-B's cafe and another classroom selling different types of wagashi, all the food that was being sold was located on the outside of the school only.

Finally, they spotted a large line full of giggling girls (and a good number of guys as well). They looked ahead on what room they were lining up for and it was indeed going towards the very classroom they were looking for.

In the front of the door, there was two people (one boy and one girl) standing outside as they greeted their guests.

But what caught their attention was what the boy and girl were wearing. And then Momoi squealed as she pointed at the rather large sign that was posted besides the door.

'Welcome to Class 3-B's Crossdress Cafe!'

"Oh hell, I gotta see this!" Aomine's eyes gleamed as he grinned widely, looking completely forward into seeing their other friends now.

From what they could see, all the girls in the class were dressed smartly in various suits with ties- resembling school boys, business men, butlers and hosts. As for the boys, they were all dressed in lolita fashion- different types of frilly dresses in many colors with a variety of high heels, wigs and accessories to boot.

It was obvious that Class 3-B went all out in the fashion department.

The group had to wait in line for about ten minutes before they were finally at the front.

The 'handsome' girl who was dressed in a complete butler's outfit with a short dark wig smiled at the group as she gave a bow. "Welcome the Crossdress Cafe."

The 'pretty' boy beside her was dressed in complete lolita fashion- with a pink ruffled dress and bows, white stockings, red platform shoes, heart-printed shoulder bag, tiny pink hat attached to his long white wig and all. He smiled at them as he asked, "How many are in your party?" Everyone was caught off guard at the pretty boy's low, manly voice.

Seijuurou ignored Takao, Aomine and Kise's snickering behind him as he replied, "There are nine of us in total."

The boy nodded as the girl called for one of the 'girls' to come help them to their seats.

But Momoi immediately interrupted as she asked, "Excuse me. We're actually friends with Kuroko, Kagami and Furihata who are also in this class. May we ask for one of them to serve us, please?" She smiled at them politely.

The boy frowned, "I think Furihata and Kuroko just went out- it was their turn to pass out the flyers at the gates." He answered, looking apologetic.

The girl then added, "Ah, but Kagami-kun is in the back- he's the main cook. But I'm sure he'll be happy to serve you all since you guys are his friends." She then called someone to tell Kagami that he was needed at the front.

Aomine and Kise in particular grinned as they waited in anticipation to seeing what the Seirin redhead was wearing.

After a minute, someone walked out from behind the curtains at the back of the classroom.

"What the hell do you guys need now?" Kagami grumbled as he walked towards them. He then froze when he saw exactly who was calling him.

Most of the guys, minus Seijuurou and Midorima, bursted out laughing as the girls cooed at the alpha's appearance.

[Kagami](https://www.polyvore.com/boyish_lolita/set?id=227425969) was also dressed as a girl, but he wasn't wearing a dress like the other boys.

Instead he wore a red and black striped blouse with a black belt and buckle cinched around his waist. He also had on very short black shorts with black and white checkered pockets with checkered suspenders attached on. Thankfully, he also had red and black plaid leggings on to prevent too much skin revealing. There was a pair of black combat boots with red flames on them and around his neck was a red and black lace collar. And to finish off the entire outfit, Kagami wore a red wig with pigtails that came up to his shoulders and bangs that were swept off to the side.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Kagami glared bloody murder as Aomine, Kise and Takao in particular laughed very, very loudly.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here?!" He shouted, his face red with both anger and embarassment.

"Oh, you look great. So 'beautiful' Kagami-chan~" Aomine teased, grinning widely as he eyed the other's shorts in particular.

"Shut up, Ahomine." Kagami groused before he snapped at the still laughing Kise and Takao, "Okay, we get it already. Will you guys shut it already!" He snapped.

"This is a side of you that I've never seen before, Taiga." Himuro commented, smiling in amusement at his 'brother'.

The alpha choked when he noticed the Himuro was part of the group as well. "Gyahh! Tatsuya?! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Himuro replied, "There a new pastry shop that opened in Tokyo and Atsushi wanted to visit it. Since we were already in Tokyo, we thought it'd be nice to visit you too, Taiga. And I must say, I'm very glad we did." The beta chuckled. Kagami groaned even louder at that.

"You look pretty, Kaga-chin." Murasakibara added, looking at him with a bored face. Kagami didn't feel complimented at all.

"I can't believe you're wearing that 'thing'." Midorima's face twisted as he looked at the tall redhead from head to toe.

Kagami rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm wearing this neither. But I was forced to or else the class president would've kill me. She and the rest of the girls in this class are scary when they're angry." He shivered as he remembered the looks the girls gave them when he had insulted the costume they made for him.

"Did you say something, Kagami-kun?" A girl, who was dressed like a male host with a shaggy blonde wig, asked him sweetly.

The redhead gulped as he took a step back, not wanting to anger the class president. "Nope. Nothing wrong. I love the outfit. Yup, love it." He said immediately. Shiruko smiled as she walked away.

"Aww...why are you not wearing a dress too, Kagamin?" Momoi questioned.

Kagami gave a suffering sigh as he answered, "Because there's no way I can handle wearing a damn dress while cooking- it's too damn hot and the skirt is hard to move around in."

Tae walked up to her boyfriend and caught him off guard once again with a hug. "Aw, you look really cute, Taiga." She gushed.

Kagami nearly had a heart attack as he stared in horror at his girlfriend. "Tae! I told you not to come here!" He shouted. Tae was already used to her boyfriend's loudness so she wasn't bothered at being yelled at by him.

"But I really wanted to see you. Besides, I thought it'd be fun for us to spend time together and walk around your school, enjoying the activities together." She pouted.

Kagami couldn't deny his girlfriend anything, especially when she looked at him like that, so he sighed in defeat as he gave her a short peck on the cheek. "Fine, whatever. My shift ends in an hour and then I can take a break and show you around, okay?" He gave a smile when his girlfriend looked very happy so that. "Anyway, lets get you guys a table already, you're blocking the way for the other customers to come through."

Pulling together some tables, the large group sat down as Kagami asked them for their orders.

"For something savory, we have the Okonomiyaki Omurice (pork fried rice wrapped in egg and topped with Okonomiyaki sauce, kewpie mayonnaise, ao-nori and bonito flakes). You can have it with whatever soft drink is available. For something sweet, we have the tea party special- which is popular with the girls, but guys do like it too. It's a large green tea scone with a side of green-tea infused butter with a complimentary cup of hot green tea." Kagami told them.

"Sign me up for the omurice!" Takao called out, raising his arm up.

"I want the tea party special!" Momoi said, looking very curious at that.

Kagami nodded as he took their orders. He looked at Seijuurou and told him, "I suggest you get the tea special too- Furi was actually the one who made the scones, you know." He pointed out.

Seijuurou smiled as he agreed to have the tea party special as well, looking forward to trying another of his bond mate's baked goods.

Kagami went to the back to continue his job in cooking the meals while the group began to talk amongst themselves in the meantime.

"Oh my god, that dress is so pretty!" Momoi squealed with Tae as the girls looked at a passing boy who was dressed in a gray vintage lolita dress with light pink flowers printed on it.

"Ooh- look at the aqua one! The one with the fluffy white long sleeves and butterflies- so cute!" Tae gushed, pointing to another boy wearing a short green bob wig.

"And the Alice one! Oh my god, I'm totally going to wear that for Halloween this year!" Momoi insisted, watching a rather sturdy looking guy dressed as Alice in Wonderland. This guy looked particularly awkward in the get up, especially since the dress looked to be a slightly sexified version of the original blue and white dress- they spotted corset strings tied on the back of the dress.

"Now I understand why this cafe got so much hype." Takao grinned, watching one of the guys wearing an orange chinese-lolita dress stumbling his way with the yellow high heeled shoes he was wearing. "It's like getting both a meal and a show in one."

"And also the reason why no other classes wanted to open a cafe of their own." Himuro added, handing some candy to his boyfriend in order to tie the alpha over until their meals came. "They knew they wouldn't be able to compete with this one."

As the group chatted, the sound of bells suddenly rang around the room. It was quiet at first, but slowly the sound became louder and louder, as if it was moving towards them.

"What is that sound?" Midorima furrowed his eyebrows as they all listened carefully.

Kise looked around as he tried to spot where the sound was coming from and then his eyes widened and jaw dropped when he noticed someone walking into the room. "OH MY GOD, SO CUUTTTEEE!"

The girls also shrieked (Momoi suffering a massive nosebleed as she fainted, being caught by both Aomine and Tae before she hit the ground) when they saw the person. The rest of them looked towards the door and also had looks of surprise and shock on their faces.

"Oh, everyone is here. Welcome." Kuroko greeted, making his way towards their table. His boyfriend Ogiwara was right behind him and waved happily at everyone as he followed the blunette.

"Tetsu, is that really you?" Aomine looked shocked at his former shadow, staring at his old friend with appreciative eyes.

[Kuroko](https://www.polyvore.com/blue_riding_hood/set?id=227425297) was dressed as a blue riding hood. He was covered in a long royal blue cloak with the hood up. On the inside, he wore a knee-length lolita dress that was dark blue on top and slowly turning a lighter blue on the bottom. There was a pretty, dream-like print on the dress that made it look almost ethereal.

As the beta moved, they could see a bit of a petticoat peeking out from under the dress and the blunette was wearing black stockings that covered his entire legs. He wore black lacy fingerless gloves on his hands and black high heeled lolita boots that were over-the-knee high and had black bows going down them.

Kuroko also wore a very long curly hair wig that came down to his waist and it was in the same shade of blue as his real hair. And around his neck was a blue and black lace collar with a bell in the middle- showing where the ringing sound from earlier had came from.

If they didn't know better, Kuroko really could be mistaken for a girl.

"You look exactly like a girl, Kurokocchi!" Kise screamed as glomped onto the blunette, eyes sparkling.

Nigou, who was acting as the wolf from the story and was wearing the grandma's pink nightgown and nightcap, barked loudly as he was a jostled in Kuroko's arms.

"Kise-kun, I can't breathe." Kuroko said in his usual bland tone, but his face was slowly turning as blue as his entire outfit from lack of air.

"Oops, sorry!" Kise said sheepishly, quickly letting the beta go. Kuroko took in deep breaths as his boyfriend gently patted him on the back, whispering words of comfort in his ears.

Ogiwara pulled away and looked at them with a proud expression. "He looks amazing, right? Well, Tetsuya always looks great, but seeing him in a dress is just whoa." The alpha grinned as he pulled out a chair for the beta to sit on, like a gentleman.

The blunette's cheeks pinked as he sat down. "I've found it a bit unsettling on how much attention this outfit has attracted. It's made me more noticeable than I'm used to and it's very uncomfortable to be honest." He admitted.

Tae pointed to the blunette's neck. "It must have something to do with the collar. The bell sound grabs attention and alerts people whenever your nearby." She pointed out. "Oh, but your entire outfit is very stunning, Kuroko-kun. In fact, I think you're the best looking one here- other than Taiga of course." Tae assured him.

"No way, you must either love him too much or you're blind because Bakagami is definitely one of the ugliest here." Aomine snorted.

"Oi, quit talking shit about me when I'm not here!" Kagami growled at them as he and Shiruko brought them their orders. The okonomiyaki omurice and green tea scones were passed around as the group settled down to enjoy their meals.

"This is so good!" Murasakibara moaned as he practically inhaled his omurice (thank god Himuro had the foresight to order an extra plate for his boyfriend, including three orders of the tea special).

"And these scones are so soft and crumbly...you can taste the slight green tea taste in them. But when you add this butter...wow." Himuro complimented, eating a piece of the scone slathered with butter and closing his eyes as it practically melted in his mouth.

"I didn't even know what a scone was before now and they are to die for!" Takao agreed as he contemplated on ordering another one.

"Kouki has always had a talent for cooking and baking. These scones and everything else he makes are marvelous." Seijuurou said proudly, tasting his own treats.

Shiruko grinned as she placed her hands on her hips. "They're our bestsellers. Everyone just can't get enough of them. Same goes for Kagami's omurice too." She added.

Kagami grinned at that. "Thanks, prez. I think that's the first compliment you've ever given me."

Shiruko rolled her eyes as she smirked. "Your omurice is the only reason I haven't kicked your ass yet. This idiot threatened to not cook anything if I forced him in a dress- that's the only reason why he's wearing shorts right now."

"I told you that the dress was too hot! Besides, I bend down a lot while cooking and wearing the short red maid's dress you wanted me to wear would have been completely inappropriate." The alpha argued.

"I have to agree- the red dress showed off Kagami-kun in ways that I really wished I could unsee." The beta shook his head at the memory.

"Oh, shut up Kuroko." Kagami groaned.

Kise raised his hand as if he was in class and when he got their attention, he lowered it saying, "Anyway, I have to ask. Kurokocchi is supposed to be little red riding hood but a blue version right?"

Kuroko nodded. "That is correct. And Nigou here is the big bad wolf who has eaten my grandmother." He held the adorable puppy up, making the girls swoon in all the cuteness.

Kise let out a coo as well before continuing, "Yeah. So why are you wearing cat ears as well? I don't remember red riding hood having them." He pointed to the two light blue cat ears with blue bows and beads sticking out from under Kuroko's hood.

Shiruko was the one to answer as she said, "Because cat ears are adorable and when you put them on someone, then that person will look adorable too. Besides, it matches his entire outfit, no?" She turned towards Kagami with a calculating look on her face. "Now that I think of it, Kagami is there by chance any way you could wear-"

"No, no, no." Kagami shook his head as he grabbed the girl by her shoulders and guided her away, "Okay, prez. I think it's time for you to help out with the other customers now. Me and Kuroko got things handled here." He said quickly as he shooed her away.

When the class president was greeting their new visitors, Kagami came back with a relieved look on his face.

"But you know, now that I think about it, I'm actually surprised. I would have thought that with Kuroko here, you guys would have done a haunted house or something like that." Takao mumbled through a mouthful of scone, making his boyfriend tsk at him as he sprayed a few crumbs everywhere.

"Oh, we did. I've been in the same homeroom as Kuroko since first year and we've done a haunted house for the last two years." Kagami told him.

"Yeah, Tetsu as a ghost was so convincing that their haunted house was a huge hit." Aomine agreed, having attended their school festival the year before.

"We even won for having the best theme for two years in a row." Kuroko nodded, taking a bite of the warm sweet potato his boyfriend had bought for them to share earlier.

"But because I have always won by being a ghost, the other students forbade any class I was in to do another haunted house this year. They said that it would be unfair and uninteresting if I had won again with the same theme." The blunette explained. "So that's why this year my class had chosen something different."

"Haaaahh...but why did that something else have to be a crossdress cafe?" Kagami sighed, shaking his head mournfully.

Himuro chuckled as he looked at his exhausted brother and commented, "I'm curious Taiga- where did you all get your outfits from anyway?" He questioned.

The alpha sighed loudly as he rolled his eyes. "One of the girls from my class has a mother who's this pretty popular fashion designer or whatever. As soon as she mentioned that we were doing a 'crossdress' cafe, automatically the mom gave her complete power to use any of their stuff to create these outfits."

"She donated quite a lot of fabrics and other materials. She also granted permission for our class to use her sewing machines to help make the costumes." Kuroko added.

"So your class created everything you are wearing?" Midorima asked, raising an eyebrow but looked fairly impressed.

Kuroko shook his head. "All of the girls only. They pieced together the accessories, sewed the dresses and suits, and coordinated everyone's outfits. The shoes were also borrowed as well." He explained.

"So what did all the boys do?" Momoi asked, having woken up from her fainting spell earlier.

"We were in charge of the signs and decorating the room. Kagami-kun is also part of the group in charge of cooking." Kuroko answered. "Since the girls have shouldered most of the work, the men agreed to wear their outfits and help advertise the cafe around the school- which is what Furihata-kun is doing right now."

"Well, I must say that the women in your class are quite talented. All your outfits are very well made." Seijuurou complimented, feeling the material of Kuroko's dress between his fingers.

Kagami snorted. "They're a little too talented. Besides, all the women in our class are scary as hell. They literally threatened to burn us in the bonfire later tonight if we didn't go along with whatever they wanted." He shivered as he remembered the glares he had gotten when he had initially refused to dress up.

"So, I see a lot of guys in lolita dresses, wearing styles like sweet lolita, hime, rococo, gothic, steampunk..." Takao tapped his finger on his palm, naming the styles off.

Midorima gave the beta a bewildered look. "How do you know all of this?"

Takao gave him a sly look as he patted his partner on the arm. "There are many things you've yet to know about me, Shin-chan. I'll show you some of them later, when we're alone." He winked as his boyfriend made incoherent noises, completely flustered. "Anyway, seeing everyone's outfits makes me curious on what Furi's wearing." He added.

Seijuurou's ears perked up as he heard his omega's name and also questioned, "Ive heard it being mentioned that Kouki is handing out flyers somewhere?" He looked towards the blunette questioningly.

Kuroko nodded. "Because of Furihata-kun's look, he was placed in the group where his job is to lure customers into our cafe. That was also what I was doing until Shigehiro-kun spotted me and then I was allowed to go on break." He explained.

"Because of Kou-kun's look?" Momoi asked, looking confused and curious at the same time.

Kuroko nodded. "The top three most convincing guys and girls have paired up with each other and together they would lure more people to come and have a meal at our cafe. My partner and I had been making rounds around the east side of the school grounds- I'll be meeting up with her in about fifteen minutes when my break ends."

"I'm coming too!" Ogiwara reminded the beta.

Kuroko gave a small smile as he nodded. "Yes, Shigehiro-kun and I will be meeting up with her later."

"So you guys have to work during the festival?" Aomine frowned, having planned to hang out with his old buddy today.

Kuroko gave the dark-skinned blunette a comforting pat on the shoulder as he assured him, "Only until 2- after that, we are all off duty to freely enjoy the rest of the festival."

Aomine nodded, giving a small grin as the two exchanged a fist bump.

"So when will Kouki be on break?" Seijuurou asked.

Kagami was the one to answer this time. "If I remember, Furi's break starts right after Kuroko's. So if you can wait here for a while, he'll probably come back to drop off the flyers before going on break." He informed the redhead.

Seijuurou nodded as he looked contented with waiting for his mate to return.

But Takao decided that waiting would be too boring and suggested, "Why don't we visit where Furi is now? Do you guys know where he might be?"

Kuroko looked thoughtful as he answered, "He was assigned to the back and the front areas of the school. So if you hadn't seen him while entering the school before, then he should be at the front gates by now." He said.

The group finished their meals and decided to try to catch up with Kouki at the front gates to meet with the omega and see what the brunette's mystery outfit was.

As they waved goodbye to Kagami, Tae, Kuroko and Ogiwara, thanking the redhead for their delicious meals, Kuroko stopped them for a moment to tell them something. Well, specifically Seijuurou something.

"Akashi-kun, I must give you a bit of warning about Furihata-kun's outfit. When you do see him, please remember that you are in public and to keep yourself from doing anything inapproriate, please." He told the other sternly.

Seijuurou only raised an eyebrow at the blunette. "I assure you Tetsuya, I'm positive that I will be able to control whatever urge I may have when I see my mate. I do know my Kouki very well."

Kuroko gifted him with one of his rare smirks as he nodded. "Alright. But remember that I have given you my warning, Akashi-kun."

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"YOU LOOK SO HOT FURI!!!" Saeko screamed, bringing the omega into a big hug and nearly suffocating the brunette with her well-blessed bosom.

"Saeko-chan....can't...breathe!" Kouki gasped, trying not to drop the flyers in his hands. As it was, the parasol he was holding had already fell onto the ground.

"Saeko, you're gonna kill him!" Fukuda told his girlfriend warily as he gently pried his girlfriend off one of his best friends.

Saeko squealed as Fukuda wrapped his arms around her to keep her in place. "Oh my god, I can't believe how pretty you look right now, Furi! I mean, you were cute before but this...WOW! It's so amazing!" She gushed, her eyes taking in every inch of of the omega.

Kouki blushed as he fingered the lace on his sleeves. "Thank you, Saeko-chan." He said shyly.

"Furihata-kun, we still have five more minutes till our break. You need to pass out the rest of your flyers." His partner (a girl dressed in a white tuxedo like a western-style groom) called out, reminding him of his work.

Kouki flushed as he quickly replied, "Ah, sorry Mirumo-chan! I'll make sure to hand them all out!"

Mirumo smiled as she nodded, "Okay! And don't worry about it- our pile is almost done soon." Shee gestured to the few flyers they had left.

Kouki smiled as he turned back to give both Fukuda and Saeko an apologetic bow, "Sorry, you guys. But I'm pretty busy right now. I can meet up with you guys later, though?"

The couple smiled and assured him that they'll see each other in time for the play. As they began to leave, Fukuda stopped to tell Kouki something, "Ah, I almost forgot. Kawa and I bumped into Seijuurou and the rest of the miracles a while ago. So when you're on your break, you should try and find them. That mate of yours was especially looking forward to seeing you." He winked.

Kouki made a noise as his face reddened, "Oh god, I don't want any of them to see me like this." He moaned.

Saeko gave him a reassuring slap on the back, making the brunette squeak, as she told him, "Don't worry about it, Furi. You look great and anyone who doesn't think so it just an idiot. Besides, I already know that Akashi is gonna go wild when he sees you." She wriggled her eyebrows at him.

Kouki blushed even more as he waved to them goodbye. Taking a deep breath, Kouki pasted on a smile on his face as he continued to pass out the flyers for his class' cafe.

The omega really didn't like being the center of attention. But all his classmates had complimented his outfit and begged him to hand out flyers so he could grab some attention for their class.

Kouki didn't really think much about his appearance (other than feeling really awkward whenever he saw his reflection) but he decided to give in and help out his classmates. Besides, giving out a few flyers was easier than actually making the costumes or cooking the meals (he did bake scones, but he was able to do that the day before so he wasn't rushed to do it or anything).

But when he got stared at and heard others whispering about him, it made it harder for the omega to force a smile on his face and continue to give out flyers to the hundreds of people coming to their school.

And now, he had to deal with a few of those people who thought it would be fun to mess with him- flirting with him and trying to take a peek up his skirt.

"Hey, so what do you say about going with us for a while, sweetheart?" One guy grinned as he wrapped his arm around the omega's waist.

Kouki quickly shook the guy off and back away slightly. "U-um, I'm sorry but I have a job to do so..."

"Why don't you take a break then- you look like you're getting tired." The first guy's friend chipped in.

"Hey, dude these flyers are about a crossdress cafe." A third guy in their group pointed to them.

"No way, she's a boy?!" Another voice sounded. "But he smells like an omega." "A male omega? Score!" Multiple voices called out, Kouki unaware of who was saying what since he was starting to panic with being surrounded by too many strangers.

The first guy (which Kouki registered in his mind as an alpha) gave him a leering grin, making Kouki recoil in disgust and fear. "Oh? Well, I'm open to both girls and guys. And with a male omega like you...it'd be the best of both worlds right?" He smirked as he began to touch Kouki's waist once more. "So, how about it, babe? Wanna come with me and my buddies to-"

"He doesn't." Everyone froze when a deadly voice spoke up.

Kouki brightened as he automatically recognized the voice and turn to see his bond mate behind him, feeling his alpha grab him by his waist and gently pull him closer, his dangerous gaze locked on the first guy. "Kouki are you alright?" Seijuurou turned to him, asking gently.

Kouki gave a small smile as he hugged himself closer to his mate, letting the other's scent calm him down. "Yeah." He breathed, suddenly feeling too exhausted to say more.

Seijuurou placed a kiss on his head though his eyes turned back to the now cowering group of males before him.

The redhead gave them one of his most dangerous looks, making sure to exude his alpha pheromones to get his point across that Kouki was HIS mate and absolutely NO ONE will even lay a finger on him.

"Huh? What are you guys looking at?" Aomine stood beside Seijuurou and gave the group of boys a dirty look, cracking his knuckles with a smirk on his face.

"Hm...it's pretty sad watching a bunch of guys like you hit on someone whose obviously taken. It's pathetic really." Kise sighed, a dangerous glint in his yellow eyes as he gave them all a dangerously sweet smile.

"Oha Asa has announced this morning that all hooligans would suffer great misfortune today." Midorima commented, giving the group a disgusted look as he twirled around the hand-held paper cutter (his lucky item for today) in his hand.

"I suggest that you guys run as fast as you can right now." Takao giggled, smirking in glee at the unfortunate group.

"Eh? Did something happen?" One of the boys literally squeaked and some almost peed themselves when they saw Murasakibara walking towards them, with a choco banana and yakitori (skewered chicken) in his hands.

"These guys were being mean to Kou-kun." Momoi told him, she herself was hugging the omega's arm, body stiffened in defense.

Murasakibara observed Kouki for a moment before turning to Himuro. "Muro-chin, can I crush them now?"

Himuro smiled widely as he laid his hand gently on the other's arm. "Unfortunately I can't let you do that, Atsushi." Just as the group began to sigh in relief, Himuro then added, "We need to corner them in a private area first- it's best if there are no witnesses around and it also makes getting rid of the bodies that much easier." And the beta said this all with his usual calm smile on his face the entire time.

After that statement, the group of guys immediately got their legs moving and they shot off faster than Japan's fastest bulletin train.

"Oi!" Aomine shouted, about to run after them but Kouki immediately stopped him.

"It's okay everyone. I'm fine now. And I'm pretty sure those guys will definitely not bother me again. Um, so thank you all for helping me." Kouki said shyly, snuggling closer to his mate as Seijuurou's hold on him tightened.

Aomine huffed but nodded his head at the brunette. "Fine. If that's what you really want chihuahua, then we'll leave it."

Kouki gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Aomine-kun."

Takao clapped his hands and walked in the front to gain everyone's attention. "Okay, now that we established how bad-ass you all are, can we move on to the next very important topic?" The hawk-eyed player then pointed directly at Kouki...or more specifically his outfit. "I mean, Furi! Oh. My. GOD."

[Kouki](https://www.polyvore.com/lolita_bride/set?id=227421624%3Cbr%20/%3E%0A) had on a cute, straight bang layered wig that came to just below his chest area. It was in the same shade as his normal hair (though maybe a bit darker) and it was topped with a pretty white lace headband with a white flower on the side.

He wore a pure white lolita dress with ruffles and lace and bows galore. It's had long sleeves that opened wide at the sleeves but what stood out the most was that his dress was the shortest one they've seen yet. The brunette's dress came up to his mid thigh, showing off a good inch or two of skin before his legs were covered with white stockings with a cute design of bunnies at the knee area.

On his feet were white chunky platform shoes with hearts and more bows on them. Then there was the small accessories like the omega's white lace gloves, the white lace flower choker with studded jewels around his neck and the matching white lace flower parasol that had fallen earlier but was now back in the omega's hands.

And the one piece that truly tied everything together was the white veil that was attached to his headband and laid gently over him, ending just at his waist.

"Awww....you look just like a bride, Kou-kun!" Momoi squealed as she hugged Kouki even more.

Kouki blushed harder as he looked down, trying to hide his red face. But Seijuurou did not like not seeing his mate's face so he gently lifted the other's chin in order to see him clearly.

When Kouki looked at him, Seijuurou smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss. "You look breath-taking, love." Kouki blushed once more but he looked very happy this time.

"...And this is where we make our exit." Takao interrupted, grinning when the couple looked at them with wide eyes, completely forgetting that they had an audience. "We like you and all, but I think it's time that Shin-chan and I go and have some alone time to ourselves."

"For once, I agree with Takao." Midorima nodded, frowning as he allowed his boyfriend to pull him away.

"Ah! If you guys can, please visit the auditorium before 2pm. All school clubs are required to put up a show and this year, the basketball team is putting up a play. So if you're interested, please feel free to watch and support us." Kouki informed them.

"Play? As in you guys will be in costumes and acting out boy AND girl parts?" Takao questioned, eyes gleaming in interest.

The omega nodded. "Yup."

Takao gave a thumbs up. "We're in. We'll see you all later!" With that, the Shuutoku couple headed towards the building, probably going to visit the knickknack shop for the green-haired shooters future lucky items.

"We'll come by and watch your play too." Himuro promised them with Murasakibara pulling on his sleeve.

"Muro-chin, let's get a churro." Murasakibara practically drooled at the sight of the sugary cinnamon fried sticks a few food stalls ahead.

Himuro chuckled as he let himself get pulled away as well. "We'll see you all later then. Okay Atsushi, slow down. We'll get both the chocolate and caramel dips, okay?"

Aomine sighed as he put his hands in his pockets. "We'll, I'm off to take a nap. Text me when the play's about to start." He told the last sentence to Momoi.

The pink-haired girl pouted as she yanked on his arm. "No way. Since we're all the way here, let's go sing karaoke!"

Kise grinned as he raised up his hand. "Ooh! Me too! Let's all go together!"

"Yay! Ki-chan is the best as always. See you both later, Kou-kun, Akashi-kun!" Momoi and Kise waved at the couple as they dragged a disgruntled Aomine along with them.

Kouki waved back, giggling as Aomine complained about not being able to sing. The brunette paused though when he felt his mate's arms wound across his middle, laying his chin on his shoulder.

Kouki smiled as he turned to give a small kiss on the other's cheek. "I'm really glad you're here Sei." He told the other.

Seijuurou smiled as he nuzzled into his mate's neck, neither of the pair caring about the stares and squeals they were receiving by the passerbys nearby. "I as well."

The couple relaxed against each other, just enjoying the other's presence before a loud growl sounded from Kouki's stomach.

Seijuurou chuckled as he moved away but took his blushing omega's hand in his. "Shall we go have something to eat?"

Kouki looked up shyly but nodded his head, tightening the hand entwined with the alpha's. "Yes, please."

The couple then walked towards the food stalls for something to eat. Kouki sighed, wishing he could change out of his outfit but the class president had ordered them all to wear their costumes until 1pm so everyone could see the outfits that all the girls had worked hard on creating.

He and Seijuurou shared a serving of yakisoba and bought ten pieces of takoyaki- five pieces were topped with negi cheese (onion cheese) and the other five had ponzu mayo on top (tangy citrus shoyu sauce and mayonnaise). They even bought two onigiris (riceballs) where Seijuurou went with the yaki onigiri with miso (pan-fried riceball) while Kouki went with the traditional ume (plum) onigiri.

They sat at one of the empty tables and ate their food, chatting and laughing with each other as they fed one another pieces of takoyaki.

A few girls came up to them to gush about how pretty Kouki was and where he had bought his outfit. They were all surprised when they learned that Kouki was actually a boy and that the outfit was made by students. They cheerfully promised that they would drop by the cafe as they went on their way.

For something sweet, Kouki bought a large, freshly-spun cone of waatame (cotton candy). He chose three flavors- green apple, blue hawaii and the traditional cotton candy pink.

Seijuurou only shook his head as he watched his mate consume his diabetic treat. "Kouki, you are aware that the thing you are eating right now is only pure sugar." He pointed out.

Kouki only gave him a sweet smile as he bit a piece of the green part. "I know. But that's what makes it so fun to eat." He pulled a piece of the pink part and fed it to his mate, laughing out loud at the disgusted face his mate made at the overwhelming sweetness.

After they consumed all their food, the couple decided to check out some of the classes inside to see what they were doing.

The first place they visited was the tea ceremony club. Kouki watched with wide eyes as Seijuurou gracefully did the entire ceremony with practiced ease and precision. He was so mesmerized that he didn't even mind that his own tea became gloopy while his alpha's was smooth and foamy.

After the ceremony, the couple bumped into Kise, Momoi and Aomine at the karaoke classroom.

Of course, the blonde and the pinkhead made them sing at least one song before they left.

The couple initially refused but the duo was relentless with their begging and eventually conceded, singing a duet in the end.

Kouki thinks he's blushed more singing with his mate than he did anytime during that day.

But when they got a singing score of 99, well, Kouki couldn't help but feel very proud at that.

And by the way, Kise got a score of 96, Momoi a 93 and Aomine with a measly score of 74 ("I told you that I don't sing!" Aomine grumbled as Kise bursted out in laughter.)

After karaoke, the couple stopped by the haunted house.

"Are you sure you are fine, Kouki?" Seijuurou asked his mate, looking worried as they walked through the darkened classroom hand-in-hand.

Kouki squeezed his hand, sweating bullets as he looked around, shivering slightly. "I'm f-fine." He stuttered slightly, flinching when konnyaku dropped from the ceiling, right in front of them.

Seijuurou found himself enjoying the haunted house a little more than he should. Not only did he find it unscary, but he loved how much his mate clung onto him, nuzzling his face into his neck or chest to hide away from the 'ghosts' that came out to scare them.

"Ahhhhhh! Oh my god! Waaahhhhh!" Kouki screamed, clutching onto the other with all his might as a 'zombie' came out and touched his leg.

And Seijuurou merely whispered soothing words at his mate, rubbing the other's back at he mentally thanked the 'monsters' for doing such a good job.

As they exited the house, a lot of girls cooed when they saw Kouki being carried piggyback by Seijuurou. The poor brunette was still trembling, hiding his face in the redhead's neck to keep from looking around their surroundings.

Seijuurou barely kept himself from suggesting to his omega that they should go through it one more time.

Deciding to do something fun next to rid of the omega's lingering fear, the couple decided to venture out to the stalls once more but went to play some of the games this time.

Of course, Kouki's bond mate excelled at everything. From the ring and basket tosses to the water balloon yoyo, Kouki had to ask for a plastic bag to store all of his mate's winnings. But Kouki did managed to do well at the cork shooting game- winning Sei a pikachu doll (the redhead had been fascinated with Pokemon ever since their movie night a few weeks back).

They headed back into the building where they participated in other types games this time.

Some of the indoor sports school clubs were holding their own contests of sort.

And in each contest, Seijuurou defeated them all.

From go to hanafuda to of course, shogi. The redhead came out victorious every single time.

Although in karuta, Kouki was the one with talent in that game and came out on top. He had always been good with memorizing the game's phrases and whatnot.

They now had a sackful (they had gotten rid of the plastic bag and Sei was now dragging along a sack of prizes with them) of all their winnings and it had become so heavy that they decided to drop the sack off at Kouki's classroom.

After being informed about the brunette's earlier incident, the class president allowed Kouki to be off duty for the rest of the day and assured him that they would replace him with someone else. So now, the omega could enjoy the rest of the festival with his mate.

Buying another two orders of Kouki's delicious scones topped with green tea butter, the couple decided to visit Kouki's friend's classroom next door.

The line was long but the couple didn't mind as they enjoyed their treats and talked to each other about anything and everything as they waited.

When it was finally their turn, the couple decided to keep things simple and opted out of wearing any of the props and just posed in front of the camera.

From happy to sad to wacky and to downright sexy, the couple did them all, with Kouki sitting on his alpha's lap the whole time.

"Awww... These ended up great!" Kouki beamed, showing their picture to the other. He only regret was that he was still dressed up as a bride.

Seijuurou looked at the pictures they took and gave a fond smile. "I like them all, but I'm more captivated by this photo." Seijuurou pointed out to the photo where he and Kouki were turned towards each other and smiling at one another.

Kouki yawned as he gingerly placed the photo in his boyfriend's pocket (his dress had no pockets) before leaning into the other as they walked down the hallway. After all the activities they had done, the brunette couldn't help but feel a bit tired.

Seijuurou held his waist as he looked down when the other yawned again. "Shall we take a break and go rest somewhere?"

Kouki nodded as he sighed. "Yeah, I'm beat and I still have to do the play later. We also have a bonfire tonight too. I think a short nap would be good."

Seijuurou nodded as he let his mate guide him to a place where they could be alone and rest.

Buying a small box of wagashi along with them to snack on later, Kouki led them to the school's roof and brought Seijuurou to the same spot where he and his best friends liked to hang out and have their lunches.

They went to the part of the roof that had a good bit of shade and Seijuurou sat down first and opened his arms for the other to join. Kouki blushed but eventually lowered himself into the other's hold when the redhead pointed out that it wouldn't be good if his white outfit got dirty from the ground.

Kouki let out another yawn as he rested on his mate's lap, feeling Seijuurou play with his 'hair' as they quietly just stared at the blue sky ahead.

Seijuurou absentmindedly fingered the fake but smooth brown hair of his mate's wig as he heard a horn go off from somewhere below. "That must be the scavenger hunt." Kouki commented, very tiredly as his eyes drooped.

Seijuurou hummed. "I'm positive that the others will be there, taking part of it."

Kouki chuckled quietly at that. "I bet. I can see Kagami and Aomine fighting about who would win...and then I can see Kuroko coming from behind and actually being the winner."

The alpha smiled, also agreeing with that scenario being possible. "The miracles have always been competitive, especially during our school's scavenger hunts in Teiko before."

Kouki sighed, snuggling up to the other as he found the perfect spot to rest his head on the other's shoulder. "What about you, Sei? What did you usually do during your school festivals?"

"If I wasn't busy with student council work? I usually played all the board games at school. And then I brought my winnings and gave them to all my friends." Seijuurou explained.

The brunette chuckled. "I see. You really are good at everything...especially shogi."

The redhead hugged him. "But I think you have me beat in karuta, Kouki."

The brunette gave another yawn before he said, "I'm really happy that you're here with me right now, Sei. The festival is so much more fun when you're here." He told the other quietly.

Seijuurou smiled widely as he pressed a soft kiss on the other's cheek a few times. "I think so as well. I have the most fun as long as you're here with me to enjoy it with." Hearing his mate give another yawn, the redhead chuckled as he softly rubbed the other's waist soothingly. "Go rest, Kouki. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" Kouki asked although he was already closing his eyes.

The last thing he heard was his mate saying, "Yes, I promise." before the omega finally succumbed to sleep.

The brunette blinked his eyes as he slowly woke up, running his face against the warm and slightly hard pillow under him.

"Are you awake, Kouki?" His pillow asked him, rubbing his back gently. Kouki blinked a few times before he realized that his pillow was actually his bond mate and that he was laying right on top of him.

Giving a yawn, Kouki shook his head as he cuddled up to the other's chest.

Seijuurou chuckled as he continued to rub his back, waiting for the other to wake up a bit more. "You know Kouki, I don't think I've properly complimented the outfit you are wearing right now. So now, I must say you look very stunning." He said, again fingering the lace material of the white dress.

Kouki only grunted a bit, still not quite awake yet.

Seijuurou moved on from the lace as he moved to feel the petticoat under the other's skirt. "And you are wearing a petticoat as well?"

"The girls said it would make the dress more 'puffy' and that it would help hide any private areas from accidentally showing since the dress really is short." Kouki mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Seijuurou hummed as he let go of the petticoat and slowly ran his hand down the other's thigh as he touched the top of his stockings. "And it is quite a short dress indeed. I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous seeing all the eyes earlier focused on you." He played with the bunny ears of the stocking as he said this. "No one should be allowed to see what is mine, and mine alone."

Kouki froze as he looked up at his mate, eyes wide and completely awake now. He saw his mate's darkened eyes and playful smirk, making Kouki himself blush a hot pink. "Sei!" He lightly slapped the other's chest when he felt his mate run his hands up his thigh again, lingering at his bottom.

Seijuurou grinned as he examined the petticoat layers much throughly this time. "Hm? What is it, love?"

Kouki squeaked as he felt the alpha palm his entire bottom. "SEI!" He hissed louder, looking around to check if anyone was watching them.

But when the redhead got that sly look on his face, before Kouki could add anything more, the redhead immediately twisted their bodies until he was now straddling on top of the omega.

Kouki eyes were wide as Seijuurou grinned down at him before leaning down to leave a light kiss on the other's lips. Pulling away slightly, Seijuurou whispered, "We are alone now. And you are really the one to blame for wearing such a delicious outfit all day. I felt my control slipping multiple times because of it."

Kouki blushed as his legs twitched slightly, feeling the smooth stockings even more on his sensitive legs. "Um, but, I-" Kouki didn't get to finish whatever he was about to say as Seijuurou quickly leaned down to steal his lips once again, but this time the kiss was much deeper and lasted longer than the previous one.

Kouki soon forgot about any protests he was about to give as he felt the other's tongue enter his mouth.

The omega let out a loud moan as he felt himself harden, his dress riding up until his groin met with his mate's own aroused state.

Opening his mouth more, Kouki let his alpha devour him as his hands roamed over his dress, pulling the neckline down slightly to place a few kisses and sucks there.

Kouki lifted his legs and wrapped them around the other's waist, pulling him closer as he lifted his arms to wound around the other's shoulders.

Panting, Seijuurou pulled away from his neck and looked down at the brunette, eyes darkened with lust and affection.

Exchanging smiles, the redhead lowered down once more to capture the other's lips, letting out a guttural sound from his throat as he felt his omega reach down between them and start to unzip his pants, giving him some needed release from the growing pressure building up...

"Ah. Muro-chin, I found them."

"You did? Good job, Atsushi. Where are they- oh!"

The couple pulled away as their heads swerved towards the other pair before them.

Himuro blinked at them surprised, but he had a small smile lingering on his lips while Murasakibara stared at them normally, chewing on some candy rope in his hand.

"Aka-chin was eating Furi-chin?" Murasakibara asked, looking completely innocent as he chewed on his candy.

"That's right, Atsushi. So I think it best for us to leave them to their meal now." Himuro gave a small bow towards the horrified couple, "Everyone's been looking for you guys- your play is about to start soon and Furihata still needs to get into his costume. But I'll tell them that you're on your way. So just take your time and come down when your ready." With his smile not changing, Himuro gently led his boyfriend away.

"Oh." Himuro paused as he looked back at the pair. "Furihata, your shoe is over there by the way." He pointed to Kouki's abandoned shoe that had somehow flew about ten feet from where the couple was. "Wouldn't want to lose it, right?" With a wave, the pair left, leaving the remaining couple to themselves.

When they were once again alone, the couple looked at each other- Seijuurou with his eyes wide as Kouki's face looked like it was about to explode any minute now.

After a moment of silence, Seijuurou leaned down to hide his face in the other's chest and erupted in laughter as Kouki let out a loud groan.

"I'll never be able to face them ever again!" Kouki moaned, hiding his face with his hands. "And poor Murasakibara-kun....we completely destroyed his innocence, Sei! I feel even more horrible about that!"

Seijuurou only laughed harder, burying his face in the other's neck as he laughed uncontrollably.

Kouki huffed as he slapped his mate, hard, on the back. "It's not funny, Sei!"

Seijuurou shook his head but he was still laughing too hard to even reply back.

Kouki glared at the redhead, refusing to melt at the sight of seeing Seijuurou laughing happily. "I'm not sleeping with you tonight."

Seijuurou managed to speak between chuckles as he said, "We both know you will."

Kouki pouted as he shook his head hard. "No I won't. And I'm definitely not having sex with you tonight either."

Seijuurou laughed even more as he leaned down and gave the other a kiss on the lips. "And we definitely know that you still will." He grinned, red eyes sparkling at his cute and embarrassed mate.

It took the couple a few minutes to finally calm down, but once they straightened themselves (and Seijuurou retrieved his mate's thrown shoe) the couple left the rooftop.

At the brunette's classroom, they apologized for being late and Kouki was horrified when he had to give an explanation for why his dress was so dirty. Seijuurou then dropped his mate off at his classroom so the brunette could finish changing.

Seijuurou headed to the school's auditorium alone, and went to sit by his fellow miracles and their partners when he spotted them in the audience. There was also Ogiwara, Tae and Saeko there as well.

Thankfully, Himuro and Murasakibara didn't comment about what happened earlier, the beta only giving him a polite smile as Murasakibara sipped on his drink as looked into his bag of treats to see which one he should eat next.

"Okay, so do you guys know what play those guys are doing?" Takao asked, watching as the baseball team finished up their street dance routine.

"I heard that they were doing Cinderella, but with a twist." Momoi mentioned, hugging the stuff bear Aomine had won for her earlier.

Aomine snorted at that. "Ugh, Cinderella is so lame. Couldn't they think of anything better?" He rolled his eyes.

"But isn't it good though?" Takao pointed out with a sly grin on his face. "Remember, Cinderella is mostly a story with girls. And the Seirin boys basketball team is made out of all guys, right?"

Aomine paused as he thought about that. Slowly, a grin appeared in his face. "Oh hell yeah. Okay, now I'm excited."

"Shh!" Midorima hushed them, a bag of potential lucky items he had bought sitting beside him. "You fools are too loud. It's starting." He glared.

The group then quietened down as the narrator's voice announced the Seirin basketball boys team's rendition of Cinderella.

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Cinderella..._

  
The spotlight shined and aim its focus on one redhead that was standing in the middle of the stage.

[Kagami](https://www.polyvore.com/strange_cinderella/set?id=229070138) wore a red and black maid's dress (lolita-style) that came up to his knees. His wig was tied in curly ponytails and half of it was colored red while the other half was black. And what was noticeable was that he was completely barefooted (none of the girls shoes could fit him and Coach forbade him to wear his sneakers or boots on stage).

Kagami squinted his eyes at the crowd (the light was too freaking bright) as he had a broom in hand, furrowing his double eyebrows with a deep frown on his face.

"Yo." The alpha nodded to the crowd, making everyone break out in laughter at the plain greeting.

  
_Cinderella lived together with her father after her mother's passing. But one day, her father married her stepmother who also had a daughter of her own. When Cinderella's father died, Cinderella learned how cruel and evil her stepmother and sister truly was. They treated Cinderella like a servant, working her down to the bones every day and night. And when the invitation from the castle came in to invite everyone to the royal ball, they wouldn't even let poor Cinderella attend the ball..._

  
"I don't want to go." Kagami said flatly, sweeping the stage.

The 'evil' stepsister, Kouki, bit his lip as he looked at the redhead with worried eyes. "A-Are you sure? I think it w-would be fun though..."

The alpha shook his head. "Nope. Don't wanna. Besides, I'm too busy cleaning this dump for me to go out and party anyway." He gestured to the empty stage around them.

Kouki frowned, his hands clenching onto the dress he was wearing. "I can h-help you with the chores then." He offered, his voice shaking a bit due to his nervousness at being on stage.

Kagami gave his 'stepsister' a fond smile as he reached over to give the brunette's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Don't sweat it, Furi-'chan'. I don't want to spend a night around other snooty people anyway. And besides, I don't got anything else to wear for the ball- nothing fits me." He gestured at his maid's dress.

"I can go and buy something quick for you to wear." The omega suggested.

Kagami chuckled as he shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. Anyway, have I told you how great you look right know- you'll knock everyone dead at the ball." He whistled as he winked at the other.

[Kouki](https://www.polyvore.com/pink_princess/set?id=229073456) was wearing a rose print lace gown with flower embellished sleeves. The dress was a pretty pastel pink hue and the skirt of the dress flared out with many hidden layers of tulle underneath to give it some drama. He also wore a pair of studded lace ballet flats that were very comfortable and matched the color and design of his dress. And the brunette's wig was pulled into two braided buns on either side of his head and topped with a white lace and beaded hairpiece.

Kouki blushed as he looked down shyly. "Thank you."

Suddenly the wicked stepmother walked in with a very haughty expression on his face.

[Kawahara](https://www.polyvore.com/wicked_stepmother/set?id=229114425) wore a long-sleeved ombré purple velvet gown with black print and equally purple velvet ballet flats with a black bow on top. His wig was a light gray, almost white, victorian-style high bun hairstyle that made him look every bit as evil and strict-looking as his character should be.

"Cinderella! If this house is not spotless by the time we come back, then I shall kick you out into the streets and you shall end up homeless for all eternity!" Kawahara shouted, pointing at Kagami in a condescending manner.

"You're having way too much fun with this." Kouki muttered under his breath.

Kagami merely raised an eyebrow as he leaned against his broom. "Sure, go for it. Kick me out. But may I ask who will clean the house, do the laundry and cook all the food if I'm not here?" He questioned, looking amused.

The stepmother paused at that, looking confused as he thought about it. Shaking his head, Kawahara just gave a sneer, "Just make sure you clean this house, Cinderella. Furi-chan, let's go!" And with that, the wicked stepmother swept up her skirts and left in a dramatic flourish.

Kagami sighed as he hurriedly shooed the brunette off. "Go on, don't leave the old lady waiting."

Kouki turned to look at him as he asked him one last time, "Are you sure you don't want to join us? I'm sure I can convince mother to give you a small break for tonight?"

Kagami shook his head. "I'm totally fine with staying home. Anyway, go to the ball and party it up with royalty. See ya later!" He waved as the brunette reluctantly left.

When he was finally all alone, Kagami then dropped the broom on the floor and sunk down on the ground, yawning loudly as he closed his eyes for a nap.

  
_Cinderella continued to work hard and tirelessly around the house, feeling miserable as she mourned the fact that she wouldn't be able to go to the ball. But a miracle happened and suddenly, Cinderella found herself visited by her fairy godmother who promised the lucky girl that she would help her to attend the ball. But only on one condition- Cinderella needed to be home by midnight for the spell would run out then..._

  
"Cinderella, please wake up." A blue-haired 'woman' stood in the middle of the stage, startling the audience as they didn't notice how the blunette had gotten there in the first place.

The blunette's expression was completely neutral as he nudged the sleeping redhead with his foot. When the redhead only let out a snore (he was actually asleep?!) the blunette took it upon himself to take his star wand and shove one of the sharp points into the redhead's nose.

"Gyahh! Wha-huh?" Kagami snorted as he immediately woke up. Blinking himself awake, the redhead looked up to glare at the person standing over him. "Dammit, Kuroko! And where do you think you're sticking that wand in?!"

The blunette merely waved his wand around nonchalantly as he proceeded to introduce himself, "Hello, Cinderella-san. I am your fairy godmother and I am here to help you go to the ball."

[Kuroko](https://www.polyvore.com/fairy_godmother/set?id=229072385) did not have wings, but he did wear a lovely blue flower embellished long-sleeve illusion gown, with a sheer illusion bodice and a jewel neck together with a full length a-line skirt. He wore a cloak over it- similar to the cloak from earlier, though this one was longer and was a light blue color. On his feet were blue lace ballet flats and his light blue wavy wig came up to his chest area with a braid and black bow ties on the side.

Kagami gave him a once-over. "Aren't fairies supposed to have wings?" He immediately pointed out, looking unimpressed.

Kuroko shook his head but began poking his wand at the other's eyelids, making the redhead's tears appear. "Like many things in life, we must earn the things we want." He lectured the other. "Now please stop crying and stand, Cinderella-san."

Kagami swatted the blunette away as the beta kept poking him with his golden magic star wand. "I'm not crying! And quit poking me already- I'm getting up, sheesh."

Kuroko nodded his head. "No need to hide your sadness, Cinderella-san. I shall help you get ready for the ball...but it does come with a price." He warned.

Kagami rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know. I have to be home by midnight or else I'll be in trouble when the magic runs out."

"Actually, I meant that you should buy me a week's worth of vanilla milkshakes in payment for my services." Kuroko told him, his expression deadpanned.

Kagami spluttered. "What the hell?! I'm not made of money- and I'm dressed as a maid, you know!"

The blunette hummed. "Well, if you did not indulge yourself in so many burgers, maybe more dresses would fit you?" He suggested.

The redhead flushed as he grabbed Kuroko by the dress, shaking the blunt blunette. "Kuroko, you bastard. You just called me fat, didn't you?"

Kagami yelped when a basketball hit him in the head just then, making him let go of his 'fairy godmother'. He looked up to see Coach Riko giving him a scary glare from backstage, shaking her fist at him in a threatening manner as she hissed for him not to fight on stage.

Kagami huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest, grumbling under his breath.

Kuroko dusted himself off as he held up his wand again. "Now, once again I shall use my magic to help you get to the ball and meet the prince. I will give you a new dress to wear and even help you with transportation. And also remember, the magic does have a time limit so you must leave by midnight. Understand, Cinderella-san?"

The redhead sighed but nodded his head. "Okay, fine. But I'm really fine with just chilling back here and not going, you know."

Kuroko nodded his head. "Good. And also, I shall expect my payment starting tomorrow- just leave the milkshakes in the freezer and I will get to them." The blunette ignored the redhead's protests as he raised his wand and the whole stage was suddenly engulfed in smoke.

  
_The fairy godmother graciously granted Cinderella's heartfelt wish and with a new dress and pumpkin carriage, Cinderella was off to the ball to meet the prince. Back at the castle, Prince Charming found himself quite bored, feeling unsatisfied by all of the ladies at the party. Almost excusing himself from the party, the prince froze when he laid eyes on Cinderella, heart thumping out of his chest as he watched the most beautiful woman in the land making her grand entrance..._

  
[Fukuda](https://www.polyvore.com/prince_charming/set?id=229114839) choked when he saw Kagami. He himself was dressed in a slightly too-big light yellow coat with silver buttons, yellow ascot and a gold stash around his middle. He had on white breeches and shiny black shoes. And on his head was a gold crown, signifying that he was indeed the Prince.

He watched as Kagami clumsily made his entrance, the redhead cursing as he kept tripping over his dress.

[Kagami](https://www.polyvore.com/strange_cinderella/set?id=229070138) had changed into a complete ballgown. It was made of red and black satin material and detailed with white lace on the skirt and flute sleeves. His wig was the same and whenever Kagami pulled up the ginormous dress to walk, the audience could see that he was still barefoot.

Cinderella looked more like a vampire than a princess, to be honest.

"We're not hosting a Halloween party, you know." Fukuda pointed out, watching Kagami waddled his ways towards him.

"Oh, shut up. It's not like I like wearing this- I look like a damn marshmallow." Kagami whined, clutching onto the giant dress.

"More like a brunt marshmallow on fire." Kuroko observed from somewhere from behind the stage.

"Whose fault do you think it is that I'm wearing this damn thing in the first place, hah fairy godmother?!" Kagami shouted back, sending Kuroko a dirty glare. Kuroko merely gave him a innocent little smile in return.

"Anyway, would you like to dance, miss?" Fukuda asked politely, following the lines of the script dutifully.

Kagami waved him off. "Nah, I'm good- I can barely walk in this thing, let alone dance in it. You should go for that lady in the rose dress instead." He pointed to his stepsister who was standing a few feet away.

Kouki jumped in surprise at being called but shook his head, "Oh, it's alright. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be more worthy of the prince's hand than I." He insisted.

Kagami furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Furi. You're just as good as any of them." He pointed to the other second and first years who were also dressed up and were attending the ball.

Kawahara nodded as he urged Kouki forward. "That's right, Furi. You're the best looking one here anyway- so go get some from the prince and make mama a queen."

Kouk blushed as he hesitated, "Um, but, I don't think this is how the story goes, guys..."

  
_As Prince Charming and Cinderella enjoyed each other's company, the clock chimed, signaling that midnight was quickly approaching. Distraught, Cinderella apologized to the prince and fled. The prince ran after her, calling out as he begged her to at least give him her name. But Cinderella didn't say anything as she ran, leaving her glass slipper behind her. As the prince held the slipper, he vowed to search the entire land for the girl he had fallen for and marry her..._

  
"Well, that's my cue to leave. It was nice meeting you, prince. And Furi-chan, make sure you have fun, okay?" Kagami yelled out as he waddled away, trying not to trip over his ball gown.

"Wait!" Fukuda yelled out. He didn't run after the redhead since Kagami was moving very slowly and he would surely be able to catch up to the other in mere seconds. "What is your name?"

"Sorry, I can't hear you! The ruffles on this dress is making too much racket!" Kagami shouted back, fleeing away.

"Ah, you have to leave your glass slipper, Kagami." Kouki called out, reminding the alpha.

Kagami blew a strand of red hair from his wig that had managed to get in his face, "Can't- I still don't have any shoes on!" He gestured towards his bare feet.

"Ah, I knew I forgot something. Here you go, Cinderella-san." Kuroko slid a glass slipper across the stage, landing near Kagami.

Kagami snorted as he kicked the slipper closer to Fukuda. "A little late, don't you think?" And with that, Cinderella quickly (sorta) made his escape.

  
_Prince Charming, together with his advisor and knights, roamed across the land, trying the glass slipper on every girl to find which one would fit it and thus, being the girl from the ball. Thousands have tried the slipper and failed. Finally, the prince came to Cinderella's house..._

  
"Oh, I'm sorry but this isn't my slipper." Kouki apologized, refusing to try on the slipper.

"Why don't you at least try, miss?" One of the second years urged him.

"Yes, Furi-chan. You can be a princess you know." Kawahara pointed out.

But the omega shook his head. "But I think you should let Cinderella try it on instead."

"Someone call for me?" Kagami walked onto the stage, once again in his maid outfit.

"Cinderella! What are you doing outside the dungeons!" Kawahara yelled, furious.

Kagami shrugged, "Well, the door was unlocked so..."

"Never mind. Can someone try on the slipper please?" Fukuda asked in exasperation.

They pulled out a chair for Kagami to sit on as he tried on the beautiful glass slipper- which was literally made out of glass and carved in a intricate design and studded with crystals all over.

"It fits!" Kouki gasped, clapping his hands in excitement.

"It doesn't." Kagami deadpanned, watching as the prince's advisor tried to shove his large foot into the tiny shoe.

"Now what?" Fukuda asked, watching as his advisor panted on the ground, giving up on trying to put the slipper on the redhead's giant feet.

"I may be able to help you all." They all looked up as Kuroko walked onto the stage, waving his wand as smoke swirled around him.

"Hey, lessen up on the smoke, will ya?" Kagami coughed, waving off some of the smoke that got in his face.

"I apologize, Cinderella-san. But anyway, I am here for I think I know the solution to all your problems." Kuroko told them.

Waving his wand in the air, the blunette pointed it directly at the brunette wearing the rose dress. "You."

Kouki jumped, his eyes wide as she shakily pointed to himself. "M-me?"

Kuroko lowered his wand as he explained. "Yes. I realized that I have made a horrible mistake. The person I came here to help was not Cinderella-san after all. The person who needed my help the most...was you, stepsister-san."

The brunette's jaw dropped. "What? But..."

Kuroko walked towards the brunette and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "The shoe was always meant for you. So why don't you try it on and get your happy ending?"

The omega blushed but shook his head, "No, I can't. I mean, I'm not the one who gets the happy ending here. I'm not the main character- I'm just the stepsister." He said weakly.

Kuroko gave him one of his rare smiles as he guided the brunette towards the seat where Kagami had sat before. "Just because you may not be Cinderella, doesn't mean that you can never be considered the main character. You will always be the main character in your own story and no matter what, you deserve to have your own happy ending. All you need to do is take a leap of faith...and fly."

The prince's advisor handed the blunette the glass slipper and Kuroko held it up to Kouki. "So stepsister-san, are you ready to take that leap?" He asked, everyone in the audience and on stage waited in anticipation for the brunette's answer.

Kouki looked around at everyone with wide eyes but then took a deep breath as he slowly looked up and met the blunette's gentle eyes. "I'm ready."

Kuroko actually gave a small grin at that as he bent down to fit the shoe on the brunette. "That was the answer I was hoping for, stepsister-san."

Kouki took off the shoe he was already wearing and everyone held their breaths as Kuroko placed the glass slipper onto the brunette's foot.

And like magic, it fit.

Everyone exhaled, some letting out cheers as Kouki's jaw dropped when the slipper actually fit perfectly over his foot.

Kuroko's face slipped back to its deadpanned expression, but the happy aura around him was glowing. "See? It was you all along."

"So, does that mean that we're going to get married?" Fukuda asked, taking a step forward.

Kuroko shook his head, earning a few gasps from the crowd. "I'm sorry, Prince-san, but you are not the right prince for stepsister-san's story."

Kouki frowned, looking at the other confused. "What do you mean, Kur- I mean, fairy godmother?"

Kuroko gave a bow as he lifted up his wand once more. "Because stepsister-san, the true prince to give you your real happy ending is right here." With another twirl of his wand, more smoke appeared on the other end of the stage. A shadowed figure appeared inside the smoke and slowly made their way towards him.

Kouki gasped when the person was finally revealed.

In front of him, was his boyfriend, his lover and his one and only bond mate, Akashi Seijuurou.

[Seijuurou](https://www.polyvore.com/prince/set?id=229091975) was dressed in a prince outfit similar to Fukuda's, but his costume seemed to fit and match the heir's overall appearance much better. He wore a coat of black and red with white lace ruffles on his chest and cuffs and white cut tons. He wore black breeches with white socks/stockings and medieval-style dark brown leather shoes. And the redhead's face was partially covered by a red and white masquerade mask with black music notes on it to keep his identity a secret.

Pretty much all of the girls (and some guys) swooned at the appearance of the mysterious handsome prince.

But Seijuurou eyes were focused on only his mate as he practically glided gracefully across the stage towards the blushing brunette, "Hello, I apologize for keeping you waiting for so long. Kouki, will you allow me to hold your hand and take you on a new adventure with me?" The redhead asked him sweetly, making all the girls (and alot of guys now) squeal loudly.

Kouki blushed as he gave the other a wide smile. "But I don't even know your name, stranger." He teased.

Seijuurou grinned as he replied, "I apologize again, but I must keep my identity a secret from everyone. But if you come with me, I'll tell you everything you want, including my name, when we're alone." The brunette became redder when the squealing became even louder and there was whistling and hooting from the crowd.

"So Kouki, I shall ask you again. Will you come with me?" The redhead asked, holding his hand up once more.

Kouki didn't even need to think twice as he jumped up and nodded, "Of course."

When he took a step forward, everyone gasped as Kouki lost his footing and began to fall. But fortunately, Seijuurou caught him and in one swift move, he lifted his omega into his arms and placed a soft kiss on the other's lips.

Now all of his teammates were cheering along with the audience as Kouki felt his face explode with all the blood that rushed up to it. He lightly smacked his mate on the shoulder as he scolded, "Sei!"

But Seijuurou only grinned as he walked off the stage, with his beautiful and perfect bond mate in his arms the entire way.

  
_And in the end, the slipper ended up fitting the stepsister and she was carried off by a mysterious prince as they both left to start their own adventure together- full of love and happiness along the way. Cinderella ended up investing her skills and opened her own business, even meeting a lovely baker where they soon got married. Prince Charming ended up finding a woman of his own- someone older but who was just as crazy for him as he was her. Although the stepmother did not find love for herself, she ended up overthrowing the neighboring kingdom's ruler and became queen. And finally, the fairy godmother finally got his own wings- proving that he was indeed a real fairy._

_And they all lived happily ever after. The end~ (´▽`ʃƪ)♡_

  
☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"What a heartwarming tale!" Momoi sniffled, clapping her hands in joy as the Seirin basketball team gave a bow.

"Whoo! This was even better than the real story!" Kise cheered, clapping his hands as he blew out a whistle or two.

"I think I've learned more from this Cinderella than the original." Ogiwara commented, giving out a louder cheer when his boyfriend gave his bow on stage.

"You're joking, right? This entire play was a monstrosity." Midorima rolled his eyes, handing a tissue to his own boyfriend who was currently in tears...tears of laughter, anyway.

"Hiroshi! You look so hot, babe!" Saeko screamed, making her boyfriend blush but he waved at her happily.

"Go, Taiga!" Tae cheered, clapping her hands as her boyfriend gave the crowd a peace sign before taking his bow.

"Ahahahahaha! I'm making multiple copies of this!" Aomine laughed aloud in glee as he watched the video he had recorded on Momoi's phone of the entire performance.

"Muro-chin, I accidentally dropped my candy apple." Murasakibara pouted. While he was clapping, the stick accidentally slipped out of his hands and landed on the floor.

"I'll buy you another one later. Here, have some of my corn instead." Himuro offered, smiling as his boyfriend's eyes lit up as he thanked the other with a peck on the cheek. Looking back at the stage, Himuro let out a quiet sigh as his smile became wider. "Bravo, Taiga. Bravo."

Later that evening, the whole group gathered around as the bonfire party began.

Earlier, the announcements of the winners and prizes were given out. In first place for best class theme was of course, the Crossdress Cafe. Class president, Shiruko, was beaming with pride as she received the free all-you-can-eat certificate at their favorite eatery for the whole class to indulge in.

And the winner for best club act went to...the softball team's musical of Hamilton (because of Seijuurou's involvement in their play, the basketball team was out of the running due to breaking the rule of no outsiders being allowed to participate).

But the basketball team did get so well that they were given the second place prize of another all-you-can-eat coupon at a pizza eatery. And that was even better for them in the end since the first place win was an all-you-can-eat steak prize and other than Kagami, the rest of the team were perfectly fine with not seeing another large steak for the rest of their lives. (Their coach had a tendency to bring the team out to steak-eating challenges whenever they were low on money and well, no thank you).

Kouki sighed as he sat next to his mate on the benches, dressed in his normal clothes again.

"I have never been so grateful to be able to wear pants again." Kouki sighed, sitting back and finally able to open his legs again as he sat.

Seijuurou chuckled as he lightly place his arm around the other's back. "No matter what you wear, I know that you'll always look amazing."

Kouki smiled as he leaned close to kiss the other. "You too, Sei. You'll always look like a prince to me." He said, shyly.

Seijuurou looked happy as he turned towards the dance floor, seeing some of their friends there- some dancing while some were fooling around. The couple decided to sit out for a while, a bit tired from all their earlier activities (the couple may or may not have done a bit of fooling around themselves after the play in one of the empty classrooms, but thankfully, this time there was no interruptions).

"So did you hear that Kuroko and Ogiwara won the scavenger hunt earlier?" Kouki asked, watching the blunette and his boyfriend twirl around the floor as if they were in a ball room.

The redhead nodded as he let out a soft chuckle. "I have. And I've also been told that Kagami and Daiki somehow won the award for best couple."

Kouki giggled as he watched Kagami dancing with Tae as Aomine was pulled along by a laughing Momoi and Kise. "No way! Hehe...that's so ironic but hilarious!"

Seijuurou sighed as he watched Takao dancing around a stiff Midorima and even Murasakibara swayed side to side with Himuro, for once not eating as his hands were on the other's hips as they danced. "But I'm sure that we would have won if we what bern there." He pointed out.

His omega giggled and nodded. "Yeah, we would. Hands down." He agreed.

They watched everyone dancing, some laughing as they chatted on the sides and the large fire burning bright right at the center of it all.

"It was really nice seeing you dressed like a bride today, Kouki. It made me think of our own wedding day someday." Seijuurou told him.

Kouki sighed as he stared at the dancing flames before them. "I'm telling you this now, Sei. When we get married someday, I'm definitely NOT going to be wearing a wedding dress." He warned, but he was smiling as he said this.

Seijuurou grinned. "Fair enough. So do you see yourself wearing a suit or kimono?"

Kouki pursed his lips as he thought. "A suit, I think. I've always preferred western weddings over the traditional Shinto ones."

Seijuurou hugged his mate closer as he nonchalantly asked, "Hm..and so would you prefer a public proposal or a private one?"

Kouki played with a loose string on his sleeves as he absently answered, "A private one, of course."

Seijuurou hummed as he leaned in and turned to place a soft kiss on the other's forehead. "I love you Kouki, very much so."

Kouki looked up from his sleeve when he heard this and gave the other a wide smile, full of nothing but happiness. "I love you too, Sei. Always, okay?"

And Seijuurou's reply to that was to lean in close again and join their lips once more, exchanging even more kisses this time.


	22. Chapter 22

## A Surprise Of Green Tea Fortune Cookies

"I think he looks better with the dark mahogany jacket than the light tan one." Momoi pointed out, holding said jacket up for the others to see.

Kise hummed as he looked at it closely, reaching up to feel the soft material between his fingers. "You're right. Furihatacchi tends to wear light clothes anyway, so it'd be a nice change to wear something darker but still with a bit of color." Kise nodded as he grab another item nearby. "So, what do think of this Momoicchi? Yes or no to the shoulder bag?" He asked, holding up two bags of the same design but contrasting colors.

Said person that the two were currently choosing an outfit for sighed at the side, tiredly sinking down onto the small couch that was available in the store.

Seijuurou had asked him a few nights ago if they could go on a date tommorrow. Of course, Kouki had said yes but now he was wondering why his mate had called their friends to help dress him up for what he had first thought to be one of their usual dates.

The brunette knew that it wasn't their anniversary and his birthday was still a ways off.

Wondering what was going on inside his mate's mind, Kouki agreed to go with Momoi and Kise to chose an outfit for him to wear.

But now, he was regretting his decision to come since it has already been 2 hours and 4 stores later and he still hasn't gotten his entire outfit yet.

"Ughhhhh..." Kouki moaned to himself, contemplating if it would be appropriate for him to lay down on the couch or not.

"Furihata-sama, would you like a glass of sparkling cider?" One of the shop attendants smiled, offering him the non-alcoholic drink.

Kouki nodded as he carefully took the glass. "Ah, yes. Thank you!" He watched as the attendant gave a bow and walked away. Sighing, the omega brought the glass to his lips and took a sip.

Tasting the apple-flavored fizzy drink, Kouki looked back at his two companions who were currently arguing about which belt he should wear.

"Are you sure you guys don't know anything about tomorrow?" Kouki interrupted them as the pair looked like they were going to strangle each other.

Momoi huffed at Kise before turning to Kouki with a bright smile. "Nope! Sorry Kou-kun!"

Kise also beamed at him, with at least seven types of belts on his arm. "Akashiichi only told us to find a semi-formal outfit for your date tomorrow. Other than that, his lips were sealed as always."

Kouki frowned. "I keep thinking that maybe tomorrow is some sort of important occasion and maybe I had forgot it, but I keep racking my brain and I really can't remember anything. It's not our birthdays and its not our anniversary neither."

Kise made an sympathetic sound as he lowered the belts and rushed to give Kouki a hug. "I know exactly how you feel, Furihatacchi. I felt the same way when I had almost forgotten my own one month anniversary with Senpai!"

Momoi sat beside Kouki and also gave him a comforting hug. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Kou-kun. Besides, if you did forget something, I'm positive that Akashi-kun would forgive you...or wouldn't even mind in the first place!"

Kise nodded as he sat at Kouki's other side and joined into the hug fest. "Momoicchi's right! I bet Akashicchi would even be happy that you forgot- we all know how much he loves a good surprise."

"As long as it's not on him." Kouki pointed out, making them all chuckle.

Kouki sighed as he soaked in his friend's words, "Yeah, you're both right, I'm probably just worrying about nothing. I'll go tomorrow and whatever happens, will happen. I'll just try to relax and focus on having fun with Sei. It's been a while since we've gone on a date- like a real date, not just an outing or staying at home together."

Kise and Momoi grinned, happy that they were able to cheer the brunette up. Sharing a sly look between each other, the pair both took Kouki by his arms and pulled them all up.

"Okay, now that we solved that problem, it's time for you to try on these belts!" Kise sang, dragging Kouki into the dressing room.

"And don't forget the pants! I know we bought some from the third store, but I think these would match much better!" Momoi gushed as she grabbed ten pairs of jeans along with her.

Kouki only groaned as he allowed the two to drag him into another session of hell.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Kouki quickly fixed his hair into its usual messy style (no matter how much he tried, his bird's nest of hair just didn't look good being combed back) before heading to the living room.

Sitting on the couch, his bond mate was already there, chatting happily with his older brother.

"Oh, now look who's here and all dressed up." Kouta grinned when he noticed his little brother enter the room.

The omega blushed as he looked down at the outfit he wore.

[Kouki](https://www.polyvore.com/date_outfit/set?id=227433408) wore a faded black polo shirt with mahogany plaid trousers and a brown crocodile belt. On his wrist was a new brown and silver watch and he was holding the burgundy and white cotton, leather and lamb fur shearling denim jacket that cost more than Kouki liked to think about.

"Is it weird?" Kouki asked, feeling awkward. The outfit itself was actually really soft feeling and comfortable, but the brunette was just not used to wearing fashionable ad expensive clothes like these.

Seijuurou stood up from the couch and made his way towards him. He was grinning brilliantly as he took Kouki's hand in his. "You look amazing, love. Very handsome." He complimented.

Kouki blushed even more, but he felt more confident now as a small smile appeared on his lips. "You look really handsome too, Sei." He said shyly.

[Seijuurou](https://www.polyvore.com/date_outfit/set?id=227434156) was wearing a light blue white dress shirt with black chino pants and a black alligator belt. He wore a pair of black dress shoes and had on a stainless steel watch and a silver pendant necklace around his neck. And Kouki spotted his mate's favorite Dolce & Gabbana black peacoat on the couch.

Honestly, the redhead looked like a freaking supermodel no matter what he wore.

Seijuurou smiled and leaned down to give him a gentle kiss. "Thank you, Kouki."

"Okay, none of that. You two go off on your date now." Kouta interrupted, making shooing motions with his hands. "And before you guys leave, did you remember what I've told you, Seijuurou?" He added sternly.

"To not defile your little brother...especially in public." Seijuurou replied with a grin, grabbing his coat.

Kouki spluttered, almost tripping as he slipped on his dark brown leather shoes. "Nii-san!" He scolded his brother.

Kouta only smiled innocently back as he gave a thumbs up. "That's correct. And don't you ever forget that, Seijuurou."

Both alphas chuckled as Kouki grabbed his mate's hand hurriedly rushed out of the house. But he paused at the doorway before turning around to stick his tongue at the older Furihata. "You're the worst, nii-san."

Kouta only grinned as he blew his little bro a kiss. "I love you too, baby brother."

Kouki frowned for another second before giving the other a wide smile. "Yeah, I love you as well, nii-san. Oh, and before I forget- make sure you give Reo-nee his jacket back. I noticed it underneath your bed when I was vacuuming earlier." He pointed out cheekily.

Leaving Kouta blushing brighter than the sun, Kouki laughed as he grabbed Seijuurou's hand and ran off, waving goodbye to his brother who was spluttering utter nonsense.

With the front door closed behind them, the couple paused for a moment or two before Seijuurou turned to raise his eyebrow at his omega. "Reo's jacket?"

Kouki grinned. "I'm 99% sure that nii-san and Reo-nee have started dating for a while now."

"Only 99% sure?" Akashi questioned, amused.

"The 1% is because they haven't announced it yet." Kouki winked.

As the couple entered the redhead's car, the driver automatically drove off to whenever Seijuurou had planned for that day.

Holding hands, Kouki looked out the car window to guess where they might be headed. Seijuurou watched as his omega stared outside and couldn't help but chuckle as his mate's eagerness.

"Excited, Kouki?" The alpha asked, bringing their hands up to place a soft kiss on the other's hand.

Kouki blushed as he looked away from the window back to his mate. "I'm just excited to know when you're taking me....and..."

"Yes?" Seijuurou encouraged him to continue when he trailed off.

The brunette bit his lip in hesitation for a second before asking, "I've been wondering if today's a special day or something. I mean, you got Sacchan and Kise to help dress me up today. But if today really is special, then I'm really sorry." He admitted, truthfully. "I mean, I know it's not our birthdays yet and it's not our anniversary either. I'm really sorry, Sei."

The alpha gave his mate a fond look as he chuckled, "Oh, Kouki. You didn't forget anything. Today is just a normal day- I promise that there's no holiday or celebration in particular. I just thought that it has been a while since I've taken you out on a real date. I just wanted to do things properly today." Seijuurou explained. "And I know how much you worry about what to wear on our dates, so this time, I have thought to ask some of our friends for help."

Kouki sighed in relief as he began to relax. "Oh, thank goodness. So there's nothing special today that I've forgotten?" He asked again, wanting to be sure.

Seijuurou shook his head. "I promise that you haven't forgotten anything. Although, I must say that today's agenda will be something very special." He added, a sly smile on his face.

Kouki looked at him, curious. "Am I allowed to know what we're doing today?" He asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked at his mate with his slightly widened eyes- knowing that his mate was usually weak to this look.

The redhead chuckled as he leaned forward to place a soft kiss on the other's lips. "I know what you're doing, Kouki."

Kouki pouted before exchanging another sweet kiss with the other. "But is it working?"

Seijuurou laughed loudly this time as he brought his arm around his omega. "Of course it is. But it really isn't necessary since I am alright with you knowing the itinerary for today." He told him.

The brunette brightened looking really eager now. "Really?!"

Seijuurou nodded, "Yes. For today, I wanted to do something a bit different than our usual previous dates. So I've decided to take you to a variety of places. We'll be going to a nice cafe first for a little brunch. Then I thought about us going to someplace fun- so we shall be heading to the amusement park. Afterwards, I've booked us on a cruise ship for dinner. How does that sound?"

Kouki was almost brimming with excitement as he finally learned what they were doing that day. As he opened his mouth to comment, the brunette paused when he realized something. "Wait, why does all of that sound familiar?" He wondered, looking a bit confused as he tried to remember where he had heard about all those activities before.

Seijuurou grinned as he answered, "Sharp as always, my love. Do you remember all the small 'dates' I had brought you on before we began dating?"

Kouki looked confused for a moment before he gasped as everything clicked. "Oh my god, you're taking me on something like a redo date of all our first disastrous non-dates before?" The brunette looked at his mate in disbelief but impressed and honestly, very happy.

Before they had begun to date, Seijuurou had asked for advice from the uncrowned kings on where to take the omega for an 'outing' so he could confess his feelings. But unfortunately, all their ideas ended badly.

The alpha nodded, satisfied that his mate really liked this idea. "Exactly. When I've taken you on that cruise, out to the French restaurant, and to the amusement park the first time, they all ended horribly. So this time around, I wanted to overwrite the bad memories of those first 'not quite-dates' and create new memories with you."

The brunette looked at his mate, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the other's sweet gesture. "That sounds perfect, Sei. I love it."

The rest of the drive was spent with the two exchanging more kisses and just enjoying being together without much speaking, just relaxing as they cuddled together.

The car slowly parked next to the entrance of the park. Seijuurou helped his mate out of the car while their driver held the door open for them.

"Shiba park?" Kouki read the sign of the entrance.

His mate took his hand as he led the omega inside. "The cafe we are going to is located inside." Seijuurou explained.

Talking a stroll in the park was a very nice start to their date. The couple enjoyed their surroundings and Kouki couldn't help but coo at small group of dogs playfully tackling each other.

They soon reached their destination at a big but open-looking cafe that really was located inside the park.

The cafe was named, 'Le Pain Quotidien' and it served European organic baked goods and simple but delicious European dishes.

Since the day out was warm and sunny, the couple decided to eat on the outdoor seating. When their meals arrived, both of their plates looked as if they were a work of art- it had a very artisan look to it.

"Are you sure you don't want to add anything else to your order?" Kouki asked, digging into his seasonal frittata; baked with vegetables, goat cheese and oven roasted chicken. And it was served with the cafe's organic bread on the side and a glass of sparkling iced hibiscus.

Unlike their first time eating at a French restaurant, Seijuurou made sure to bring them to a place with a Japanese menu so that the omega would be able to choose his own dish and make sure that there was no shellfish in his dish this time.

Seijuurou nodded as he ate his order of a small green salad dressed with a basil vinaigrette and a small glass of mint lemonade. "This is enough for me, Kouki." He assured the other, insisting that he was only in the mood for something light for now.

After finishing their meals, the couple walked around the rest of the park before making it back to their car.

During their walk, Seijuurou had bought his mate a treat at one of the carts in the park.

"Are you sure you don't want a bite?" Kouki asked, offering his 'zakuzaku' to his mate. The zakuzaku was a cream puff from Hokkaido that was almost the length of a ruler and with an almond crust. The omega had gotten the original flavor, rather than the caramel one.

The redhead smiled as he once again declined the offer, "I'm alright, Kouki. Please enjoy your treat."

The first part of their date went without a hitch, Seijuurou was happy to see his mate smiling from their nice meal and a relaxing walk around the park.

When they've made it back to the car, the pair headed off to their next destination.

"Oh my god, we're at Fuji-Q Highland!" Kouki literally squealed as he saw the large sign, indicating that they were indeed at Japan's most famous amusement park.

The driver parked in Fuji-Q's second parking lot and the brunette nearly jumped out of the car and would have started running towards the entrance if Seijuurou hadn't held onto his mate first.

"Are you excited Kouki?" Seijuurou chuckled, seeing his mate practically buzz with amazement as the omega kept looking around the park with wide, shining eyes.

"I'm SO excited! I've never been here before and- oh my god! You can really see Mt. Fuji from here!" The omega jumped up and down, pointing to the famous landmark frantically. He had visited Mt. Fuji before for a class trip, but he had never gotten the chance to visit Fuji-Q amusement park before.

"I'm happy and relieved that you like our second destination so much." The alpha admitted, smiling proudly that he could make his mate so happy.

Kouki grinned as he reached up to bring their lips together in a hard but loving kiss, "I'm so happy you brought me here, Sei. Thank you!"

The couple exchanged a few more kisses before they decided to make their way inside the park when a couple of kids ran by, giggling at them.

"Shall we go on the rides first?" Seijuurou suggested, after he showed the other the 'priority tickets and fast passes' (available only to a certain persons) he had gotten them so that they wouldn't need to wait in line for anything and also wouldn't need to pay for their tickets to each ride separately.

Kouki nodded happily. "Let's go on that one first!" The brunette pointed to the closest ride to them.

It was the world's 4th dimension roller coaster, Eejanaika. The omega had heard that this ride was one of the four best rides in the park, and was known for being the best roller coaster ride overall in Japan. He definitely wanted to go on this first.

As the couple went straight to the start of the line, Kouki felt a bit bad about cutting to the front, but his excitement overrode the jealous eyes directed at them.

"Are you excited, Sei?" Kouki said, looking at his boyfriend beside him.

Seijuurou nodded as he reached over to clasped their hands together. "I'm very excited, especially when I have you here with me to enjoy this together with."

Kouki grinned, wishing he could kiss his mate again, but unfortunately they were already locked into their seats, making it impossible and after another minute, they were off.

The omega was caught off guard by the fact that this ride started backwards. He talked to his mate in a fast pace as he wondered when the first drop would be and when it happened, the omega was taken completely by surprise again.

Kouki was screaming in happiness throughout the whole ride as his feet dangled in the air, making him feel as if he was hurtling through the air as he spun forward and backward, went through loops and flip-flops and twists as the ride raced through the crazy track.

It felt literally as if he was trapped in a washing machine.

At the end of the ride, Kouki was brimming with energy, feeling completely fine and excited for the next ride (Kouki had never gotten motion sickness in his life, not even once, so he was perfectly okay to go on the next ride straight away).

Seijuurou on the other hand, looked a bit breathless after the ride, but he quickly pulled his composure together and soon he was fine as well.

Kouki giggled as he fixed his mate's wind-blown hair (his own brown locks were always in a mess, so he didn't have to fix it much). "How are you feeling, Sei?"

Seijuurou smiled, "I enjoyed it. It was a bit confusing since I had no idea where anything was from spinning around so much, but overall, the ride was fun."

The brunette grinned before a worried look crossed his face. "Are you sure you're okay with going into the next ride, Sei? You don't want to rest first?" He asked, remembering that even if he himself didn't get sick on these rides, his mate was not the same.

In fact, the last time they had gone to the amusement park, the redhead had gotten sick all over Kouki after their third ride. So this time, Kouki wanted to make sure that the alpha wouldn't push himself just for Kouki's happiness.

Seijuurou shook his head as he gave the other a reassuring smile. "I am fine, Kouki. Unlike the last time, I made sure to take extra precautions this time around."

Kouki looked thoughtful, "Ah! Is that why you chose to eat something light before coming here?" He realized.

The redhead smiled wider as he nodded, "Exactly. I also made sure to take some motion-sickness pills beforehand as well."

Kouki hugged the other, overjoyed by his mate's thorough planning for their date. "Thank you, Sei."

Seijuurou chuckled as he hugged the other back before they both headed towards the next rides.

Kouki decided to skip riding the Nagashimasuka and Cool Jappaan. Those rides involved getting wet and even though Seijuurou offered to get them some raincoats, Kouki didn't want to chance getting his new (and expensive) outfit soaked.

Also, he wanted to stay relatively dry for the cruise later that night.

The next ride they went on was the Tekkotsubanchou. It was like a huge swing that spun the couple round and round, up and down. Kouki loved this ride a lot since unlike Eejanaika, he was able to see the entire park this time.

Seijuurou turned and smiled when he saw Kouki giggling as the brunette had his arms up like a bird with wings, soaring through the sky.

The Red Tower gave Kouki a very nice view of Mt. Fuji. The brunette pointed out the majestic mountain to his mate once again when they hit the very top of the ride at 52 meters, and then everyone screamed as they dropped down all the way to the ground.

Kouki also felt like he was flying through the air when they went on the Panic Clock next. It was somewhat like Tekkotsubanchou, but this ride was not as calm as the other ride. The Panic Clock was as if the ride was actually panicking- speeding up and slowing down at random times, and it even went in reverse. Kouki laughed as his breath got stolen a few times by the unexpected changes, his legs feeling a bit like jelly went the ride was over.

Since they had a map, Kouki suggested they skip the Tentekomai since that ride was located on the left side of the park and most of the rides they had left were on a right route. He also pointed out that this ride was most likely to be similar to Tekkosubanchou so they didn't need to go. His alpha of course agreed to his wishes, and they high headed towards the next rides on the right side.

The next ride, Mad Mouse, looked cute from the outside and Kouki didn't think much about it. But they still went on it anyway since the brunette thought it would be nice to take a slow ride to even things out.

But as soon as the ride started, Kouki found out that the look of this roller coaster was deceiving and the two-seater seats were moving shaking left to right, making the omega actually worry if they were gonna fall over or not. And when the ride hit all its turns and drops...well, Kouki learned to never underestimate a ride again.

"Oh, Sei. Look!" Kouki pointed to a spot with a huge heart sign where girls/boys were supposed to confess their love to someone. There was currently a couple there now where the girl had just confessed her love and it looked like the boy had accepted her feelings.

"Do you want to go there, Kouki?" Seijuurou teased, chuckling when his mate quickly refused.

"No way. I feel really uncomfortable doing that kind of thing in front of a crowd of strangers." Kouki frowned, shuddering at the mere thought.

Seijuurou chuckled more as he leaned to give his cute omega a peck on the cheek before they both walked towards the next ride.

Riding the Tondemina was as if Kouki was a pizza dough that was being spun into the air (and of course, the name pizza-la on the ride itself fit well). This ride was similar to some of the previous ones, but the omega still managed to have fun on it either way.

The last three rides they went on were the final 3 of the 4 major rides of the amusement park.

Fujiyama was considered the king of the roller coasters.

Apparently this ride had a lot of world records, with a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81mph), a maximum drop of 70m (230ft), and a maximum height of 79m (259ft).

Kouki and Seijuurou were once again in the very front for this ride (just like they had for the rest of the rides) and Kouki had to admit that the high drop during the ride was so scary that he even screamed- in terror- aduring it. But he really enjoyed the rest of the ride and completely understood how this roller coasters earned all its world records.

After this ride, Seijuurou finally suggested they take a small break, feeling a bit dizzy from the last ride.

Kouki agreed and they both took a seat at the snack shop in front of Fujiyama. While Seijuurou rested, Kouki decided to grab something to snack on.

"It never ceases to astound me that you can still have a healthy appetite after going on all these rides." Seijuurou commented, opening one of his eyes and peeking as his mate took a big bite out of the Fujiyama Burger he had gotten at MOS Burger.

Kouki shrugged. "I've just never been affected by roller coasters and stuff- in fact, I actually get really hungry when I ride them." With that, he decided to also get a small cone of mont-blanc ice cream after he had finished off the burger.

After taking a short rest plus a bathroom break, Seijuurou was well enough to go on the last two rides.

Takabisha had the world record for the world's steepest roller coaster, with a 121° vertical drop. Even just looking at it from afar made Kouki's eyes widen in amazement.

Strapped into the front seats once again, the couple was slowly brought straight up where they were literally facing the actual sky above. They were at an 90° as they went up and the two actually chatted with each other as they slowly ascended to the top. Kouki found it almost comfortable because it felt as if he was lying down is seat.

When they hit the top and their seat tilted downward slowly, the brunette was no longer relaxed and comfortable. Instead his adrenaline was pumping fast once again as he was nearly screeching as they were at the very brink, just before falling. And the angle they were at made it feel like they were really about to plunge down to their deaths.

Kouki let out a loud scream, laughing hysterically as soon as they dropped down. The entire ride after that heart thumping moment went by in a flash for the omega and at the end, he almost wondered if it was the end already. But either way, he really enjoyed the ride.

For their final ride, they went on the Dododonpa. Going up to 180 km/hr in a mere 1.56 second launch, it was named the world's most exhilarating roller coaster and the fastest roller coaster in all of Japan.

Kouki nodded his head along with the music that played when the ride started to go into a very black tunnel with a bright light shining at the end of it.

Excitement built up in the brunette as the countdown started before a voice shouted, "DODODONPA!"

And then suddenly Kouki could feel all the air get knocked out of his lungs as the ride was suddenly thrown forward at a speed so fast he thought his face would be pulled off. Kouki could barely keep his eyes open to see when they passed through another tunnel with rainbow colors flashing.

When his breath finally found itself back to his lungs, the brunette let out a weak laugh as his mind also caught up to the fact that they had somehow travelled far enough that they were now making a deep drop down.

The omega was laughing the rest of the ride, enjoying the speed and the exhilaration the ride gave.

Dododonpa ended up being Kouki's favorite ride because of its fast speed. It may had been very fast and may not have had a lot of spins, turns or twists like the other rides, but the omega just loved the breath-stealing start of the roller coaster.

And since Seijuurou also agreed that the Dododonpa was the ride he also enjoyed the most, they decided to go on the ride one more time- since it was a very quick ride.

"Waaahhh~ I can't feel my face. I love it!" Kouki gushed, rubbing his frozen cheeks as they got off the ride.

Seijuurou laughed as he also shook his head, trying to get the rest of his hearing back. "That last ride was really something."

"It was my favorite." The brunette stated dreamily. "I'm so glad we went on it last."

Seijuurou was just relieved that they were finally done with all the rides (he enjoyed them but unlike his mate, he was still feeling some of the aftereffects from all the rides they've been on that day).

"Sei, these are hilarious!" Kouki laughed, showing his mate the photos that were taken on some of the rides they've been on.

The couple had actually gotten all their pictures that were taken from three of the roller coasters- Fujiyama, Takabisha and Eejanaika.

"Kouki..." Seijuurou groaned, not liking how the photos had come out at all.

In every photo, the alpha's eyes were comically wide open as he clutched onto his seat for dear life. And his mate beside him was happily smiling in every photo- looking like the poster child for a person having the time of their lives at Fuji-Q.

"Can't we cut them in half so we can only see your lovely face?" Seijuurou suggested.

Kouki snickered as he shook his head. "Nope." He grinned as he placed the pictures into his pocket (they decided to not get the folders that came with the photos so that they would be able to move around the park easily without carrying anything in their hands).

"So where would you like to go now, Kouki?" The alpha asked, his arm around the other's waist as they walked through the park at a more leisure pace this time (before, they had been rushing a bit so they could make sure to ride everything the omega wanted).

"Let's go there." Kouki pointed at the large tea cups ahead.

Seijuurou looked at his mate and raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were done with the rides."

Kouki smiled as he dragged the other towards another ride. "This one is relaxing, I swear. And after this, no more rides I promise." The brunette vowed.

Seijuurou was pleasantly surprised that the tea cup ride was indeed very calming (though this was because Kouki held himself back from forcing their tea cup to spin too much).

Getting off from the ride, Kouki smiled widely as he once more held hands with the other. "Okay, I'm good. No more rides."

The couple walked around the park, scoping out all the game stalls and cute attractions.

"What about this one?" Seijuurou asked, pointing to an attraction that looked exactly like a prison. The couple went closer to find out more about it.

Ultimate Fort 2 (aka. Fortress of Despair 2) was set up as a labyrinth in a huge fortress with mission tasks to clear in order to escape.

The objective was to try to work through a labyrinth of countless doors, corridors, and rooms and strict security set up within the fort and make it out within the time limit. There were different stages inside, with each stage becoming increasingly difficult as the person progresses through the fort. Each stage was full of hidden clues, secret doorways, and other traps and contraptions all designed to trip people up.

This was not the type of maze that could be cleared by merely fumbling around in the dark. Only those who possessed the knowledge, memory power, physical strength, imagination, and most importantly, luck would be able to persevere to the end and earn the rank of “Sucessful Escapees” and will be given a prize to recognize their achievement.

Kouki took one look at his mate's eager face and knew that they would definitely be trying this attraction. The redhead's eyes glinted specifically when it was mentioned that it had a mission clear success rate of 0% as over 1.2 million challengers had attempted and failed in breaking the impenetrable fortress.

With their gear strapped on, the couple went stayed together as they explored each of the rooms.

Unfortunately, they were not allowed to go through the labyrinth by themselves and had to go together as a group of four. So, they were paired up with another couple (a guy with his girlfriend who looked like one of those prissy types).

In one of the rooms- the Dark room- they had to walk near the wall while trying to not be detected by the cameras and military robots which came to check each corridor during the infiltration mission. But the girl had kept whining about how dark it was and eventually got the group detected and kicked out of the complex.

"It's okay, Sei. Next time, let's bring some of the guys to do this with." Kouki said, patting his disappointed mate's shoulder in comfort.

Seijuurou sighed as he nodded his head, still frowning. "I'm sure Shintarou or Tetsuya would be a great help to us."

Kouki hugged him as he checked the photos that were given to them after they came out. These were the best photos yet- both Seijuurou and Kouki looked completely badass and there was no sign of the other couple in any of them.

Continuing on as they walked down the path, Seijuurou pointed to another attraction. "This one looks very interesting as well, doesn't it Kouki?" The redhead couldn't help smirk a bit.

Kouki looked confused as he stared at the attraction his mate was pointing at before the building finally registered in his brain and the omega let out a small shriek as he quickly shook his head. "Nononononono!"

The Labyrinth of Fear was known as the world's most scariest and longest house of horrors.

It was in a haunted hospital setting that contained traverse dark passages, escape sealed rooms, and make you witness sights, sounds, and smells that will make you feel your primal fear. It was 900 meters and about 50 minutes of pure terror.

Kouki absolutely REFUSED to go in there.

"I don't want to go in there!" Kouki nearly cried, clutching onto his mate as he buried his face in the other's shoulder.

Seijuurou rubbed his back soothingly, trying to calm him down. "But wouldn't it be fun? And it is nearing Halloween." His mate pointed out.

Kouki gave a hard shake of his head. "No! And the fact that it's almost Halloween makes it even MORE scarier!"

"Are you really that scared of going in?" His mate asked him gently. "If I recall, you've dealt with scarier things before, correct?"

"Exactly. I already had to deal with being haunted, possessed and almost killed by actual ghosts so I don't need any more horror in my life. And remember that haunted house we went to during the cultural festival? If I was scared to tears then, I'll really DIE here." Kouki informed him seriously.

Seijuurou was quiet for a moment before saying, "Okay, then we won't go in."

The brunette looked up with teary eyes at his mate. "Really? You mean that?"

Seijuurou smiled as he gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Of course, Kouki. If you really don't want to go in, then I'm fine with us skipping this attraction. I don't want to frighten you so much that you'll end up miserable, especially while we're supposed to be having fun today. So let's not go in." He told the other.

Kouki immediately brightened as he held his mate's face in his hands and proceeded to shower kisses everywhere he could reach. "Thank you! Oh my god, I love you Sei! So much!"

Seijuurou chuckled as he returned the other's kisses, relieved that his omega was back to his cheerful self.

Since a bit of time passed since they've ridden anything, Seijuurou decided that it would be safe for him to eat something so they stopped at Fujiyama Taiyaki to buy two taiyakis for the both of them- with Kouki choosing the chocolate cream filled one while Seijuurou had the red bean jam. And the taiyakis itself also looked special as it had the shape of a fish with Mt. Fuji on them.

Walking around the park with their treats, they also decided to buy two green tea fortune cookies at a selling vendor since Kouki loved stuff involving fortunes.

Cracking his cookie open, Kouki eagerly read his fortune. "'Today will be the start of the rest of your life.' Aww...I like it." He grinned, showing it to his mate.

Seijuurou also read his own fortune out loud, "'Have faith in yourself and everything will work out fine in the end.' Interesting." The redhead commented, but he looked pleased by his fortune.

Kouki looked at the alpha's fortune as well and smiled widely. "That's great Sei! I'm glad we both got good fortunes."

They both ate the rest of their cookies, both agreeing that the cookie tasted like any other regular fortune cookie and neither of them could really taste the green tea flavor in it. But alas, the cookies were freshly baked and they at least had a nice light green color to them.

Even though the couple didn't go inside the Labyrinth of Fear, Seijuurou did managed to convince his mate to try Mizuki Shigeru's GeGeGe Haunted Mansion.

This attraction was based on the popular Japanese anime about a bunch of spirit-monsters. Kouki only agreed to go because he had watched this anime and actually liked it. Also, this attraction was good for ages 3 and up so the brunette had felt reassured that this wouldn't be too scary.

The couple walked down the path behind the main house, pointing out the cardboard cutouts of the characters from the anime along the way.

They decided to try the attraction where they needed to sit in a dimly lit room, put on a set of headphones and all the lights would be turned off as they started the audio show.

Entering the room together, they both sat down. The room was almost completely pitch dark so Kouki wasn't able to see Seijuurou- he only knew the other was beside him since they were still holding hands and could feel his mate's presence and smell his comforting cinnamon scent.

Putting on the headphones, Seijuurou could feel his mate stiffen and his grip tightening on their hands as the audio started to play.

They could hear all the voices of the characters from the anime. There were some eerie parts where the voice of the yokai had sent chills down Kouki's spine, the sound of heavy breathing in his ears made it feel as if there was someone behind him, actually breathing down his neck.

All Kouki has to say was that this attraction shouldn't be allowed for 3 year olds.

Holding onto his slightly trembling mate, Seijuurou brought his omega to the souvenir store that sold limited edition items based on the same anime to cheer him up.

Thankfully, this tactic worked and Kouki ended up buying a tin can of hard candy with some of the anime's characters on the can.

Kouki calmed down even more as they walked around and the brunette even took a few pictures next to Nezumi-Otoko in front of the souvenir shop and sat next to Kitarō and Neko-Musume on a red bench.

After the haunted mansion, the couple walked around more and passed by other attractions like the Evangelion: World, merry-go-round, ice rink (during the summer the place would be transformed into paddle boats), the Go-Kart Tracks, and the kid attractions like Hamtato and Thomasland. But the couple decided to pass on all of these since they weren't very interested in trying any of them.

As the sun began to set, this alerted Kouki that they would probably need to leave soon in order to make their reservations for their dinner cruise.

Coming to a stop, Seijuurou smiled at his mate as he gestured towards something behind them, "I know that we've agreed on no more rides, but would you like to go on just one more ride with me before we leave?" He asked.

Kouki looked at where the alpha was pointing to and smiled widely as he nodded. "I would love to. Let's go!"

The final ride for the day was the Shining Flower. It was Fuji-Q's rainbow colored ferris wheel and at a height of 50-meters, it was called the best seat in the whole park.

They were lucky to get one of the only four transparent gondolas in the ride. And the timing of their ride was very nice since it gave them a perfect view of Mt. Fuji at sunset.

"Wow." Kouki breathed, looking as the sun slowly came down, peeking out from behind Mt. Fuji.

Seijuurou smiled as he looked at his mate instead. "Are you happy, Kouki?"

Kouki looked away from the sunset to give his mate a warm smile. "Yeah. I always am with you by my side."

Seijuurou grinned as he got up to sit next to his mate, being careful to not jostle their gondola too much. "Does today erase any of the bad memories from the last time we were at an amusement park?"

Kouki chuckled as he cuddled up to the other. "That last time wasn't too bad, Sei. But yeah, I really had a lot of fun here today. And I even got some photographic proof showing you off your guard." He teased.

"Kouki..." Seijuurou groaned before a smirk crossed his face and for the rest of the ride, their gondola was shaking a lot as the two got into a tickle fight with one another, leaving plenty of kisses along the way.

Leaving Fuji-Q Highland, the couple made their way towards their car where their driver began to take them to their final destination for their date.

"Oh wow." Kouki commented, feeling as if he was just being nothing but surprised all day.

The cruise they were going on this time was the Symphony Tokyo Bay Cruising Restaurant. The ship they were going on looked much more extravagant than the first time they went on a cruise and this ship had a more relaxed but elegant feeling to it.

Handing their coats to the head waiter, Kouki was glad that the outfit Momoi and Kise had chosen for him didn't look out-of-place in the fancy setting they were currently in.

They were brought to their table and when they were seated, the waiter told them that their meals (that had already been pre-determined) would arrive after they departured.

Once they were alone, Kouki looked out the large window to his left and watched as they left the dock and began to sail away.

"Kouki." The brunette turned away from the window when he heard his mate call his name, and saw Seijuurou smiling at him. "I love you." The redhead said simply, reaching over to gently hold the omega's hand.

Kouki blushed brightly but he gave the other's hand a squeeze, feeling happy and contented. "I love you too."

The ship passed through the Rainbow Bridge, making Kouki gasp in delight as the seven colors of the bridge suddenly shone when they got near and shined brightly against the now darkened sky.

After passing through the rainbow bridge, they passed another bridge this time- the Tokyo Gate Bridge- and behind that was a clear view of the lit up in gold-colored Tokyo Sky Tree.

During the cruise, their meals were finally served starting with an appetizer of sardine marinated vegetables topped with caviar and for their soup, two bowls of warm bouillabaisse. There was also a fresh basket of assorted breads with a side of butter on their table as well.

For their main entree, they both received the wagyu fillet and deer fillet with foie gras flavored red wine sauce and a side of truffled potato mash and a medley of buttered vegetables. Kouki practically moaned as both meats practically melted in his mouth.

The two chatted as they ate their meals, Kouki pausing to point at something outside as they passed by even more well-known sights.

They finished their meals with a cup of tea or coffee and a light dessert of french vanilla ice cream with marinated mixed berries and white chocolate shavings.

"Shall we go to the deck?" Seijuurou suggested, holding his hand out to the omega as they made their way to the top of the ship.

They were provided with a large thick blanket that they both shared as they cuddled together on one of the lounge chairs above.

"Isn't that the Haneda airport?" Kouki pointed out, watching a plane landing down at the same time.

Seijuurou nodded as he rested his chin on top the other's head. The omega was splayed on top of his mate, neither caring much about their positions since they were the only ones up there anyway.

"This is really fun." Kouki told him, absently playing with one of the redhead's buttons. He felt his mate chuckle in response, and for the rest of the cruise, they laid with one another, talking quietly about in calm conversation but mostly they were quiet as they enjoyed the night view.

When they were back on land, Kouki let out a small yawn as he rubbed his hands together, shivering a little from the night wind.

"So are we going back to my place or yours?" Kouki asked. Since it was the weekend, they always slept together. But when they were in Tokyo, they usually had the choice between staying at Kouki's place or going to Seijuurou's Tokyo residence.

"Actually, if you are not too tired yet, there is one last place I would like to take you. Is that alright with you, Kouki?" Seijuurou asked, looking at the other with an apologetic expression on his face.

The brunette looked confused and did give another yawn, but he nodded his head as he replied, "Sure. Where do you want to go?"

Seijuurou let go of their hands and reached into his pocket, pulling out something black. "I actually would like this to be a secret, so would you mind wearing this for now?" He held up the blindfold in his hand. "I promise that the place is close by and I will make sure you won't fall or be harmed in any way. So, do you trust me?" He asked.

Kouki blinked at the blindfold, no longer feeling tired anymore. Finally, he gave a small nod. "Okay. I'll always trust you, Sei." He gave his mate a smile as he said this.

Seijuurou grinned and once they were in the car, the redhead covered the omega's eyes with the blindfold.

The drive wasn't very long, but Kouki couldn't help but feel his mate's nervousness. Not in a bad way- but he could sense the other's jitteriness through their bond, making Kouki feel very alarmed in return.

Finally the car came to a stop and Kouki heard the car door open. "Come Kouki." Seijuurou said gently, carefully helping him out of the car, making sure the omega's head wouldn't hit the roof of the car.

They soon began walking, with Seijuurou having a firm hold on his waist and holding his hand as they slowly made their way to wherever the alpha had brought them too.

After a while, they finally came to a stop. Kouki panicked a little when Seijuurou let go of him, but he calmed the other place a soft kiss on his lips as the redhead whispered to him that he would be right there.

Kouki stayed still, standing stiffly as he heard a bit more shuffling noises before everything was silent.

Finding himself holding his breath in anticipation for what was going to happen next, Kouki was startled slightly when he finally heard his mate speak, "Kouki, you may remove the blindfold now." Seijuurou's voice sounded a bit far away.

Taking off the blindfold, Kouki had to give a few blinks as his eyes took in the sudden light that hit him.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the light and he got a good view of his surroundings, the omega let out a huge gasp.

He was standing at the very top of a very familiar flight of stairs, with Seijuurou smiling up at him from the very last bottom step. Around them were hundreds of candles of every height and shape lit up around them, with endless amounts of red and white rose flowers and pedals scattered everywhere.

"Sei...." Kouki whispered, their setting rendering him completely speechless.

Seijuurou's smile widened as his red eyes glittered brilliantly in the candle light, shining even brighter than any of the candles around them. "The first time I met you were on these stairs. And just like our first not-quite dates, our first and even second meetings were even more of a disaster." He chuckled at the memory of seeing his beloved for the first time, here on these very stairs as the brunette trembled, staring widely at him during that time.

"And just like the previous places, I wanted to make a new memory for the both of us here, a much happier memory." Seijuurou grinned, seeing his mate tear up as the brunette began to take everything in, "So here we are, back to the very start. But this time, you are the one at the very top....exactly where you belong."

Kouki sniffled as he wiped away a few tears that fell down. "Oh, Sei. I-I don't know what to say." He confessed truthfully, completely blown away.

Seijuurou chuckled as he took a deep breath. "Just smile, Kouki. That is enough for me."

Kouki couldn't help but grin very widely, making the both of them laugh together.

Still giggling, Kouki began to walk down the stairs, stopping halfway. "Well, if we're gonna override our memory of this place, then I think we should do it right." Holding out his hand to the other, he gave his bond mate a teary smile. "Let's meet each other halfway this time, ne?"

Seijuurou grinned as he happily walked up the stairs and took the omega's hand in his, placing a gentle kiss right at the center of his palm. "Kouki...look up."

The brunette followed his mate's instructions and looked at the dark sky in confusion for a second before being startled as fireworks started to shoot into the sky.

Kouki felt his jaw drop in shock and amazement as he could feel his mate pull them to the top of the stairs so they could sit comfortably together on the top step.

They watched the sky together, sitting side by side as Kouki looked at all the exploding colors light up the sky in awe. He let out a loud, "Oh my god!" when the fireworks formed the letters S and K inside a heart that appeared at the end.

With the fireworks sizzling off, Kouki looked at his mate with eyes full of wonder. "How did you do that?"

Seijuurou grinned as he shrugged. "That, my dear Kouki, shall be another one of my secrets." Kouki answering pout making him laugh.

After he settled down, Seijuurou closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he looked back at Kouki with very serious eyes this time, "Kouki, may I ask you something?"

Feeling a sense of nervousness hit him suddenly, Kouki slowly nodded his head. "Sure. Anything, Sei."

Seijuurou nodded as he shifted slightly so he was now kneeling down two steps below Kouki. "Kouki....how are you feeling right now?" He asked, searching the other's eyes carefully.

Kouki furrowed his eyebrows but answered, "I'm feeling fine?" He sounded unsure, but he was quite confused by the redhead's question.

Seijuurou only nodded as he gave another question. "You are sure you are not feeling ill or find the candles and flowers around us disagreeable?"

Kouki frowned this time as he shook his head. "Of course not. Everything here is so beautiful Sei- it's beyond words, like beautiful isn't even enough an adjective to fully describe how amazing this all is." He gestured around them. "And I promise, I'm 100% feeling just fine." He assured the redhead.

Seijuurou sighed as he gave the other a relieved smile this time. "Good."

With that, Seijuurou reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, deep red box with gold lining around it.

Kouki literally felt his heart stop and his breath being stolen when his alpha opened the tiny box and inside it showed a beautiful [ring](https://www.gemvara.com/jewelry/beacon-ring/round-diamond-platinum-ring/16frfn)\- a simple platinum band with a giant diamond right on top.

With his hands trembling a bit, Seijuurou gave a small gulp and took another breath before looking directly into Kouki's stunned brown eyes and begun to speak.

"Since the moment our eyes directly met, something in me felt that you were someone to watch out for. It may not have been love at first sight for either of us, but I vow to you that you are the only sight I want to see every single day for the rest of my life from now on. I could wake up to see your face beside mine for the next hundred years and be completely certain that I would be the most luckiest human in the universe.

"You, my only love, my omega, my bond mate...are the single most amazing, brilliant and extraordinary person I have ever had the privilege of having in my life. So now, I would like to ask you for another privilege that I hope you would bless me with tonight." Taking another shaky breath, Seijuurou looked at Kouki with the bravest, most powerful and vulnerable eyes that he had ever seen on his mate before.

"Furihata Kouki, will you grace me the absolute honor of becoming my husband?"

Kouki sniffled as he could feel more tears well up in his eyes, slowly dripping down his cheeks as he stared at his bond mate, his lover and his soulmate.

"Yes." Kouki replied softly, his voice still light from feeling almost out of breath by everything around them.

If Kouki hadn't started crying, he would have laughed at the almost comical expression on his mate's face right then. "Really? Kouki, you said yes, right? You agree to marry me?" The alpha repeated, red eyes glowing with tears of their own.

Kouki could only nod as the word 'yes' continued to spill out through his lips.

Seijuurou gave a loud cheer, tears of utter joy running down his own face as he gathered his new fiancé in his arms and stood up, spinning them around in celebration and total elation.

And Kouki laughed and cried right along with Seijuurou, holding onto his fiancé tight and making his own vow to never let him go.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Which one would have been your choice?"

Kouki looked up from his phone as he faced his mate, who was laying down beside him with his arm around the brunette's bare waist.

"What?" Kouki asked, looking confused.

Seijuurou smiled as he held the other close, their blanket sliding down slightly, showing off the alpha's bare body. "Between the cafe, the amusement park or the cruise, which place would you have rather preferred for a first date?" The redhead clarified.

His omega looked thoughtful for a minute before replying, "The amusement park was fun, but for a first date it seemed a place to go with friends rather than someone you want to go out with. And the cruise was very amazing but it would be a bit too much for a first date. So...I would have preferred the cafe as a first date. It was simple but sweet and the stroll through the park was a nice touch. It's also a good way to getting to know your date better too." Kouki answered.

Seijuurou smiled as he made a mental note to tell a certain dark-muscled person that his choice of first date had won. Apparently the uncrowned kings still argued till to this day about who's first date was the best...it was nice to finally be able to settle that argument. "I see..." He commented, trailing off.

They were both quiet for a few moments, with Kouki looking through his phone, giggling at something written there, while Seijuurou began to leave little kiss marks here and there near the omega's hip.

"And what is my lovely fiancé laughing about this morning?" Seijuurou questioned, trying to take a peek at the other's phone screen.

Kouki found himself blushing brightly- still not used to being called 'fiancé' just yet. "Um, I just find the names that Kawahara and Fukuda are calling each other very hilarious."

Seijuurou caught a glimpse of the conversation and raised his eyebrow. "They both have a very....interesting vocabulary. What are they arguing about by the way?"

"Oh, they're just fighting about who should be my best man." The omega shrugged.

The reply made Seijuurou pause in his quest to cover his entire mate's lower half in kiss marks and he looked up at the other with wide eyes. "You already told them about our engagement?"

Kouki looked back at him confused, not understanding his fiancé's reaction. "Yes?"

"When?" Seijuurou demanded.

"Just now. I sent an group mail to everybody actually." He answered, still not understanding what the big deal was.

Seijuurou looked at him in disbelief. "You announced our engagement over an email?"

Kouki finally realized what was wrong. Announcing something as important as an engagement over a measly email did sound bad, especially when it concerned someone as extravagant and showy as his mate.

"Oops?" Kouki said, looking very sheepish.

Seijuurou groaned as he buried his face in the brunette's waist. "Kouki...."

"I'm sorry! I forgot that you would probably have wanted to make a big announcement or hold a party for this. I'm really sorry, Sei!" Kouki apologized, hugging the alpha as he showered him with lots of kisses as an apology.

Seijuurou peeked up at him, saying, "You vow to make this up to me? Right now?"

"Right now?" Kouki furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused before gasping when his mate straddled his body, looking down at him from above, a sly grin on his face.

"You will make it up to me while I make sure to thoroughly punish you for announcing our engagement over email." The redhead swore.

Kouki giggled as the other began to nuzzle into his neck, giving a few nips at his bond mark there. "Oh, well then I accept your punishment gladly."

Leaving a nice love bite right next to the omega's bond mark, Seijuurou pulled away slightly to give his new fiancé a gentle smile this time. "We're getting married, Kouki." He said softly, looking almost still in wonder that his mate had actually said yes to him this time.

Kouki smiled back as he leaned forward to give his fiancé a tender and sweet kiss. Pulling away, he nodded.

"Yeah, Sei. We're really getting married."


	23. Chapter 23

## A Tasting From The Green Tea Menu

"CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE WINTER CUP!" Mibuchi screamed, glomping onto a half-awake (though now fully awake) Furihata Kouki.

Kouki was startled as he was almost pulled off his seat by the taller man. Thankfully, his fiancé helped keep the both of them upright, sitting in the chair beside him.

After pulling himself together, Kouki blinked before giving Mibuchi a beaming smile. "Thank you, Reo-nee! And Happy New Year! But you already congratulated me a lot of times already." He reminded the other.

Reo was still grinning as he let the brunette go and gave a big hug in greeting to Seijuurou next. "Happy new year to everyone! And I just can't help but be so happy about your win. Eiki-chan and Kota-kun also agreed that even though Rakuzan is our alumni school, we're still so proud of your win."

Kouki blushed as he shook his head in embarassment. "No, no. It was a team effort after all." And it was- the Seirin basketball team was in it all together. They were known for and prided on their team play, after all.

"But I am still sad that our team lost. And only by two points." Mibuchi pouted, releasing Seijuurou and taking his seat at the omega's other side.

The winter cup final match was between Rakuzan and Seirin. The game winning point happened when Kouki intercepted a pass being made between Rakuzan's two players and when he had successfully stole the ball, he brought it to their side of the court.

At the halfway line, Seijuurou had caught up to him but the omega quickly passed the ball (using his own variation of the pass that Kuroko had taught him all year during their practices) towards their ace, Kagami.

Then as the redhead tried to avoid two other Rakuzan players that were blocking him, Kagami shot the ball and instead of getting it into the hoop, it hit the rim instead and bounced back....right into Kuroko's waiting arms, making the pair's well known alley-oop play but in reverse.

Using his phantom shot, Kuroko bypassed one of Rakuzan's players and made the game winning basket.

"I apologize again, Reo." Seijuurou replied, but he was smiling as he was nothing but satisfied with how their last game had played out.

Mibuchi chuckled as he waved it off. "No matter. You all did amazing and you guys only lost by two points so it was really a close game." And it was- the points kept going beak and forth and there was no clear winner until the end.

Kouki sighed as he took a bite of his buttered toast. "Since we weren't able to give Coach her back-to-back wins like she wanted before, I'm glad that we were able to give her at least one more win before graduating." He said, smiling happily.

"And you guys managed to win the last two competitions before that, so you did more that an amazing job, Sei-chan." Mibuchi beamed, making Seijuurou grin and Kouki giggle.

Seirin had managed to win during their first and third year winter cup tournaments while Rakuzan won their first and third year interhigh and second year winter cup. Seirin also managed to always make the top four for every single tournament after their winter cup win and Rakuzan had always made the final two in every tournament.

All in all, both teams were satisfied by how their high school basketball lives went.

As for their second year interhigh tournament, neither Rakuzan nor Seirin had won. Instead, the team who came out on top was...

"I still am very pleasantly surprised that Kise's team also managed to grab a win of their own." Seijuurou said nostalgically, taking a sip of his coffee.

Kouki and Mibuchi giggled as they remembered how much Kaijou had screamed and shouted in celebration that night. And when their former captain, Kasamatsu Yukio had planted a kiss right on his blonde kouhai....well, the expression on Kise's face shined brighter then the winter cup trophy itself.

And of course, they all remembered the kick Kasamatsu had later given his new boyfriend when Kise tackled him on the court and began to make out with him in front of EVERYONE.

Haaaaahhh....good times.

"Anyway, now that the basketball season has finally come to an end, we can now get down to business." Mibuchi said. He pulled out five large binders out of his bag and set it on their dining table.

"What is all of this?" Kouki stared at the enormous binders with wide eyes.

Mibuchi beamed as he opened one binder, showing them its contents. "I came here today by request of Sei-chan to help you guys plan your wedding!" He's announced excitedly, going through each binder to show them possible venues, flower choices, types of food menus....

Kouki gulped as he looked at everything, feeling his anxiety soar.

Two months ago, Seijuurou had proposed to the omega for the second time, and Kouki had finally agreed to marry him. The next day, they had made their engagement announcement known via email and were warmly congratulated by everyone.

Especially, Masaomi. The Akashi head was so ecstatic that the couple had to rein him in and convince the older man that there was no way they could get married right that weekend (wedding planned or not, they still had to deal with their exams).

After announcing their engagement, the pair had little time to do anything else for their wedding.

Since they were both in their final year of high school, Kouki and Seijuurou had been too busy focusing on their final high school exams, cram school for their upcoming college entrance examination and practicing for the winter cup.

But now, most of their high school exams were finished and the basketball season was over for the year. Now all the couple had to focus on was cram school and studying to get into their college of choice (which they decided that they would attend the same school this time since they were tired of having a long-distance relationship).

"We're so stupid for thinking that we could juggle our entrance exams and plan for our wedding at the same time!" Kouki groaned, covering his face with his hands.

Seijuurou held his fiancé by the waist and gave him a small squeeze. "No we're not. I'm sure we'll be able to handle this. We both managed to pass our final exams and get through the winter cup just fine." He pointed out. "I'm sure we'll be able to pass our college entrance exams with flying colors."

"I'm sure YOU will. For me, I feel like I'm getting dumber with every cram class." The omega grumbled.

Seijuurou frowned, "That's not true, Kouki. You are incredibly smart and I'm absolutely certain that you will pass."

The brunette shook his head, looking distraught, "There's no way. I'm testing for the University of Tokyo, you know? That's like the biggest school in Japan...and one of the top universities in the world! I can't see myself getting in."

His alpha placed a light kiss on the other's forehead, exuding some of his pheromones to calm his bond mate. "I have complete faith in you, love. And if things don't go our way, I'm sure we can figure something out." He told the other.

"I'll be a ronin student!" Kouki cried, mournfully.

"You won't." Seijuurou assured him, hugging him some more.

Mibuchi also joined in the hug fest, practically suffocating the couple. "Calm down, Kou-chan! Everything will work out and you won't be alone! Don't worry about the wedding- that's why I'm here today. I'll be your wedding planner for the whole event and I'm gonna make sure everything turns out just fine." He swore.

Kouki sniffled as he looked at the beta. "You promise? And how did you become the wedding planner, if you don't mind me asking?"

Mibuchi waved him off. "Oh, it's fine. And one of Akashi-sama's employees had actually contacted my family's business to ask about the type of flower arrangements we have. In fact, this binder is the compiled work that Akashi-sama had hired specialists for in order to gather info and quick reservations for your wedding.

"When I heard that you guys were too busy to plan for your wedding, I had the idea about helping you since I've taken off from school and have plenty of some free time right now. I spoke to Sei-chan about it and he and Akashi-sama agreed to give me the main reins to your wedding. Will that be okay with you, Kou-chan?" Mibuchi asked the omega.

Kouki nodded. "Of course. That would be a great load off my mind and I completely trust you with all the decisions."

Mibuchi beamed but corrected him by saying, "I won't be making all the decisions. You guys will still get the final say in everything that goes on. I'm just gonna be here to organize everything and make sure it all goes without a hitch." The beta clapped his hands in excitement. "I'm so excited for this!"

"Thank you again for coming here during your holidays to help us." Seijuurou told his friend kindly, very grateful for the other's help as he himself was also too busy to deal with any wedding plans right now.

The beta shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Since new year is already done, I think this is the perfect time to start planning."

Mibuchi took out his electronic tablet and opened it up so he could get ready to make notes. "Okay, so first things first....have you two decided on when you will be getting married?"

"We decided to get married on March 7, exactly one week after our graduation." Kouki answered.

"We decided that getting married after graduation would be the best time for us to hold the wedding and leave for our honeymoon the next day. So on March 8, we will be leaving for our honeymoon and we'll arrive back on March 29. That'll give us three whole weeks which is plenty of time for us to enjoy ourselves. Afterwards, that'll give us one week of rest and preparation before college begins." Seijuurou explained.

"If I make it into college anyway." Kouki muttered under his breath, making his fiancé hug him closer.

Mibuchi looked shocked. "Wait....so you're getting married THIS year? As in, 3 months away from now?"

Kouki groaned, "I told you this was a crazy idea, Sei!"

"But I am sure we can accomplish this," Seijuurou insisted, trying to calm his mate down. "Also, father will not allow us to wait for too long to get married." He reminded the other.

Masaomi was not a patient person and he had already been waiting about two years for his son to propose to his mate. That was why, as soon they had announced their engagement, Seijuurou had to bargain with his father so that they could at least graduate first before getting married.

"It's not impossible." Mibuchi decided. "It'll be a bit hectic, yes, but it does help that your budget is unlimited and that the Akashi family has a lot of influence so I'm positive that there will be little problem in getting everything we need on time."

"See? Everything will be fine." Seijuurou said, placing a kiss on the brunette's forehead. Kouki looked a little more calm, but he was still worried.

"So, we got the dates down and you've told me that you have everything for your honeymoon already planned and reserved earlier, right?" The beta looked towards his kouhai.

Seijuurou nodded. "Exactly. But I will be keeping it a secret though so Kouki will be extra surprised when we get there."

Mibuchi nodded. "Now that I don't need to worry about that, the next thing I want to know is where do you guys want to get married? The venue is one of the major things we have to choose and that will basically set off how the entire wedding will go." He explained, turning a few pages in the second binder to the venues part. "What is your dream wedding, Kouki?" He asked the omega.

The brunette shook his head as he said, "My dream wedding is to have no wedding- I just want to sign the papers and that's that. Even though Masaomi-papa won't approve, I really rather just elope instead."

Mibuchi looked stricken at the mere thought. "Akashi-sama won't allow it? I won't allow it! I am not having two of my close friends to merely elope. That's out of the question!" The beta was horrified. "And where would you two even elope?"

Kouki shrugged. "I'm fine going to a court house or even to Las Vegas if you guys what something fancier."

"Eloping in Las Vegas is cheap, not fancy!" Mibuchi screeched. "Destination weddings are okay, but I'm putting my foot down on eloping."

Kouki pouted as Seijuurou gave his hand a squeeze. "Kouki, do you oppose having a wedding ceremony that much?" His alpha asked, looking concerned. He himself was fine with whatever his omega wanted, but he knew that they would eventually regret marrying without at least having their loved one by their sides.

Kouki sighed, "I really do want to marry you, Sei. But the whole deal with the ceremony and the reception...I feel so nervous thinking of all the people who will be staring at on that day. I mean...we'll be the center of attention for the whole time. My nerves and anxiety can't handle that kind of pressure and I'm scared that I might mess up and then you'll cancel the ceremony and we won't get married after all." The brunette was in near tears as he finally confessed his fears.

Even though the omega had been working on his anxiety problems, he still had difficulty in situations involving being the center of attention, especially in front of large crowds.

Seijuurou pulled Kouki into his embrace and gave his nervous fiancé a sweet kiss on both cheeks before placing one on his lips. "Kouki, I promise I will never cancel our wedding. I love you too much and I'm much too excited to finally have you become mine, legally. I vow to you, I'll be with you every step during our wedding so you'll have nothing to worry about and I'm absolutely confident that you will not 'mess up' on that day. Okay?"

Mibuchi nodded at this. "And I'll make sure to go over the guest list with you both. Only the people who are close and care about you two will be there. And I promise that the wedding will not be too large."

"Father has already made sure that none of his business partners will attend. Although maybe just those who have been very close with the Akashi company for years and who you also have gotten along with, Kouki. But other than that, this will be an intimate affair between you and me and our close friends and family." Kouki had a tiny smile after listening to his fiancé's and friend/wedding planner's reassurances. Their words did make him feel better.

"Okay." Kouki whispered.

"I think the type of wedding that would suit you both will be something extravagant but has a calming, relaxing feel to it. If I can give you that type wedding, would you like that, Kou-chan?" Mibuchi smiled at the brunette, relieved that eloping was off the table for good.

Kouki nodded shyly. "Yes. Something calming sounds nice." The brunette wondered if that would even be possible? How could one have a fancy but simple wedding at the same time?

Mibuchi beamed at him. "Good. Now, since we have agreed on no elopements, do you still want to hold your wedding in Las Vegas? Or somewhere else overseas?"

Kouki shook his head. "No. I would like to get married here in Japan." He looked at his bond mate as he said this, and smiled when the other nodded in agreement. "Most of our friends and family are already here and I would feel more comfortable if the ceremony and reception was here as well."

The wedding planner nodded, noting it down on his tablet. "Now I would like to ask if you both are interested in a traditional japanese wedding or a western type one?"

Kouki thought about it for a moment before answering, "I would like it more on the western side. Since we're both Japanese, I still want it to have some japanese influences and traditions as well, but I think having a Shinto wedding would be too strict. I want to have fun surrounded by friends and family on that day."

"I think keeping everything semi-formal would be for the best for us both," Seijuurou added.

"Okay. I agree since they do say that a western-style wedding is considered more romantic, cheerful, modern and less tiring than a tradition Shinto wedding. We can now cross off getting married at any shrines or temples then. That would leave us with chapels or marrying in an outdoor ceremony as our options. Which one would you both prefer?"

Seijuurou and Kouki communicated silently with one another before looking back at the beta. "I would prefer an indoor wedding. Somewhere inside in case of the weather being unagreeable the day of our wedding." The redhead suggested.

"I want an outdoor wedding though." Kouki admitted. "I would like to be around nature, something green and lots of flowers and trees when we get married. I think that would be very nice."

"But what if it rained on that day, Kouki?" Seijuurou pointed out to the other gently, holding his hand.

Kouki frowned. "But it'll also be spring at that time and it hardly ever rains then." He pointed out.

"We could decorate the indoor venue with lots of flowers and plants to give it more of the nature feel that you want." Mibuchi tried to compromise.

Kouki frowned. "It won't be the same though."

The beta pursed his lips as he tapped his chin. "Hm...well I will think about it more later and then come back to you two when I figure something out. For now, you've mentioned that Akashi-sama started on the the guest list?"

Seijuurou nodded. "He has the list complied. All there is to do now is for Kouki and I to go over it together and as soon as it has our approval, I shall email it to you immediately."

Mibuchi nodded, taking note of it. "Very good. Now, what about the wedding party? How many people will there be on both sides? And who will be the best man and maid of honor? Or man of honor if you choose?" He questioned the couple.

Mibuchi himself decided that as he was their wedding planner, he would be too busy to take any major parts in the actual wedding ceremony and had politely declined being in either party.

"On both sides, we will have eight people each. I haven't chosen my best man yet." Seijuurou informed him. For Seijuurou, his groomsmen would consist of Kuroko, Midorima, Murasakibara, Aomine, Kise, Hayama, and Nebuya. And the alpha will also have one groomswoman, Momoi.

"Nii-san will walk me down the aisle so I'm not too sure who will be my man or maid of honor yet neither." Kouki answered. In his wedding party, his groomsmen will be Fukuda, Kawahara, Kagami, Takao and Nijimura-senpai (he and Haizaki had agreed to fly in for the wedding and the couple decided to place Nijimura into Kouki's party so he could watch over his own mate in case any fights broke out).

Kouki had also asked Shougo to be a part of his party, but his friend vehemently refused and threatened to not attend the wedding at all if he had to be a groomsmen. But the brunette already knew that his friend was just being shy and had no doubt that his fellow male omega would be there for him in the end.

Kouki rounded out his party with an addition of two bridesmaids- Coach Riko Aida and Ootsubo Tae.

Mibuchi hummed. "Please inform me of your best man and man/maid of honor soon. I'll give you both at least until after your entrance exams for you two to decide."

Kouki and Seijuurou nodded at this. Mibuchi continued, "May I ask, do you have a theme for your wedding thought of?"

Kouki made a face at that. "Mm...I'm not really sure. I don't really know any themes?"

"The theme for your wedding could be anything you both like or are interested in. Like a winter wonderland wedding, a beach wedding, a cherry blossom wedding...the sky's the limit!" The beta suggested to them.

"A basketball wedding?" Kouki offered. Based on the answering groan he had received, the omega figured that they wouldn't be having a basketball wedding after all.

"Something more romantic, Kou-chan!" Mibuchi begged, shuddering at the thought of trying to make a basketball romantic.

"Uhh...I really don't know." Kouki looked at his fiancé, who only smiled encouragingly back at him.

Seijuurou was quiet for a while, observing his fiancé, but finally said, "I'm unsure if this counts as a theme, but Kouki and I are very partial with the colors red and gold. So I think that would be a nice color combination for our wedding. Maybe with a bit of black too." He offered.

"But nothing too dark. I would like the wedding to be light and open." The omega chimed in, blushing when Seijuurou chuckled in agreement to that.

Mibuchi nodded happily as he typed down all their preferences. "That sounds perfect for you two. So your theme shall be something...Majestic and strong but with a lot of fun at the same time."

Smacking his hands on the table in excitement, Mibuchi beamed up at the both of them. "A royal extravaganza it is!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

The pair had finally finished their college entrance exams a few days ago and Kouki was just relieved to finally get that over and done with. Although now, he found himself very anxious for the results to be released (which the university had announced that the results would be posted up on March 5, exactly two days before their wedding).

As Seijuurou helped to keep his fiancé from melting down from all his worry- even enlisting the help from their all friends to keep his omega calm and happy- the couple now had more free time to focus on planning for their wedding.

Mibuchi had done a fair amount of work by himself- making calls and traveling to different places to gather more information and samples from various wedding vendors and venue options.

The trio were now at Kouki's house this time for their second meeting regarding the wedding.

"Okay, so I've travelled to a few places in Japan and I've found a few wonderful places that you two might like." Mibuchi pulled out some papers and laid them out on the floor for them to see.

"Let's avoid having our wedding in Hokkaido- the weather around this time of year will be a bit too cold for what we have wanted as a warm, spring wedding." Seijuurou told him, making Mibuchi cross Hokkaido off the list of possible venues.

"This chapel is so pretty." Kouki commented, looking amazed at the glass chapel in Okinawa. "But....it doesn't feel right for our wedding. It's so....blue and ocean-y. It wouldn't fit into our red and gold theme."

"Kyoto doesn't feel right neither." Seijuurou pointed out, looking through the pictures of Kyoto's wedding venues and reception areas. "There's mostly shrines here and we are not keen on having a traditional Shinto wedding."

"But the gardens there are beautiful." Kouki added, looking at one of the flower gardens with a koi pond.

Mibuchi noted everything down before suggesting, "So what about a wedding here in Tokyo? Mostly everyone attending the wedding lives here and it would cut out some of the hassle of traveling to another place."

Kouki looked unsure as he looked through all the brochures and pictures of various hotels in Tokyo. "All of these hotels look so....expensive."

"Money is not a problem, Kouki." Seijuurou reminded him.

The omega shook his head. "Yeah, I know that. But it's just that all these hotels make me very....high-strung, like I can't calm down if I were to get married in any of these places." He explained.

"Well why don't we visit some of these places tomorrow and decide then. Maybe you would think differently when you're actually there." Mibuchi suggested.

Kouki didn't look any confident as he stared at the photos but he hesitantly nodded, "Maybe."

"Hey, what's going on around here?" Kouta greeted everyone, strolling into the living room.

"Kouta!" Mibuchi cried out happily, getting up to hug his boyfriend.

The two had finally gotten together last Christmas. Kouta had finally manned up and actually travelled all the way to Kyoto- together with the strawberry shortcake that he had asked Kouki to bake for him to give to Mibuchi's family- and confessed his feelings to the surprised beta while also asking him out.

And with a loud squeal that pretty much all of Kyoto must have heard, Mibuchi said yes.

Kouta chuckled as he hugged his boyfriend back, placing a small kiss on his cheek. "Hey, babe. Come here again for wedding planning?" He had also helped out the other with some of the planning, giving some input to things he knew that his brother would approve.

"Yes! We were just discussing the venue." Mibuchi replied happily, perfectly contented to stay in the other's embrace.

Kouki and Seijuurou exchanged amused looks before the omega called out, "Okay you two love birds, we're suppose to be planning Sei and my wedding here, not yours."

Miubuchi giggled as Kouta stuck his tongue out at his brother. "You're the last one to talk about being too lovey-dovey around others." But the duo sat down and they continued to discuss about the upcoming wedding again.

"Oh no, these won't do." Kouta shook his head at the hotel pictures. "They're way too prim and proper for Kouki. This doesn't match him at all."

"Thank you." Kouki said, giving his fiancé and wedding planner a pointed look.

Mibuchi sighed, "But we're still going to visit some of them. Just so you can see them in person and maybe you would feel differently."

They decided to put the topic of wedding venues aside for now as they moved on to the other important wedding details.

"So for your officiant, I got a well-known minister who have agreed to marrying the both of you. He has married plenty of famous and powerful people before so I'm sure that he'll be the right person to marry the both of you."

Seijuurou hummed, recognizing the name of the priest. "Excellent. I'm sure he will be acceptable. And you have the all wedding documents and the marriage contract underway?"

The beta nodded, "Yes. Akashi-sama has been in charge of that so there's nothing to worry about."

"What's this, Reo?" Kouta asked, pointing to a certain part in wedding binder number four.

"This is what I think we should do about music." The beta answered. "Since they wanted their wedding to be more on the fun side, I thought that having a time for everyone to dance would be good."

"Oh, that does sound fun." Kouki smiled, looking through the pictures.

Mibuchi grinned. "Right? So I decided to ask Kota-kun for some advise since he was the one who knows the most about this department. He suggested that we get both a DJ and orchestra to play at your wedding. A DJ would be good for those who like the modern techno music. For the orchestra, there is an amazing delivery service that will come to your wedding with their instruments and play all the sweet and more traditional music."

"Orchestra delivery?" His boyfriend said, amused.

The beta nodded, "Yup. An actual orchestra would consist of too many people and that would end up causing too much stress on poor Kou-chan here. But this portable orchestra would only consist of five people playing the drums, saxophone, two violins and the keyboard- though if there was an actual piano at the venue, then I think that would be a better choice."

Seijuurou listened to what the other was saying and looked like he approved of the idea, "That sounds great Reo. I shall be looking forward to it."

"As for the song choice, Kota-kun said to leave it all to him since he has a good idea about what you two like. He also said to let him deal with the song for your first dance- he would like it to be a surprise." Seeing the engaged couple agree to the plans, Mibuchi took out his tablet to check off the wedding music.

"I've already contacted and booked Japan's best photographer and videographers to film and photographed your entire ceremony and reception for memories of your special day. So we don't need to worry about that. Now for your flowers, my family has sent some samples and pictures of arrangements that we can choose from. But if there's something you would like specifically, then I promise I can make it happen."

"Oh, roses are a must of course." Kouta commented, looking at some of the actual flowers that the florist (Mibuchi's family) had given samples for.

"These orchids are lovely." Seijuurou mused, holding one up to examine it closely.

Mibuchi noticed that Kouki was quiet and asked, "What's wrong Kou-chan? Is there a flower you like that's not here? I can get it for you, if you like." He told the omega gently.

Kouki shook his head but hesitated for a second before saying, "I really want [wisteria](http://g03.s.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1KckvGFXXXXcxXFXXq6xXFXXXS/206104539/HTB1KckvGFXXXXcxXFXXq6xXFXXXS.jpg) at the wedding- they've always been my favorite flower. And since it's spring, can we have some sakura (cherry blossoms) too?" He asked shyly.

Mibuchi cooed. "Of course we can do that. I'll make sure to fill the whole room with them- it'll look lovely."

The group decided which flowers they would use for the ceremony and bouquets, and which ones would be used for the wedding decor.

Closing the binder, Mibuchi sighed as he looked up at everyone with a bright smile on his face. "Okay, I think that's all for today. I've made a website for your wedding so all your guest can be well informed about any wedding details or changes that may happen in the future." He informed them.

Seijuurou smiled. "That's a smart idea, Reo."

The beta winked. "I thought so. Anyway, the next thing in our agenda is to find the perfect wedding venue. So I'll see you guys this weekend so you two can actually see the venues for yourself and decide which one you love the best!" Mibuchi said excited once more. Planning a wedding was pretty hectic, but Mibuchi found himself loving every bit of this chaos.

When the weekend strolled in, the trio drove out to look for their venue in Tokyo. Kouki and Seijuurou finally decided that Tokyo would be the best place for them to marry- it would make traveling less of a hassle and some of the best places to marry in Japan were in Tokyo.

The first venue they visited was The Peninsula Tokyo Hotel.

The Peninsula Tokyo was named the Best Hotel in Tokyo for 2017. It's lobby was filled with a warm gold glow with plenty of diamonds with the feel of pure decadence. All the employees treated their guest like royalty and the rooms and suites that they had been shown to was completely immaculate.

But Kouki was not impressed by the hotel's chapel- it reminded him of being in a classroom. The room was very simple and full of wood. And the omega wasn't keen with any of the banquet rooms or ballrooms neither- they were all stunning, but it just didn't feel right for the omega.

"It's much too busy here." Seijuurou commented as they watched another newlywed couple enter the lobby and make their way to the chapel. Since the hotel was so popular, it was common to hold weddings there. But the downside to it was that the couples would end up adamantly sharing their special day with the other hotel guests who were also staying at the hotel.

Kouki didn't like the thought of having his wedding being viewed by hundreds of people he didn't know. (And he shot down his fiancé's idea of reserving the entire hotel to themselves so that they wouldn't be bothered by anyone- that would be way too much).

Crossing off The Peninsula off their list, they moved onto the next hotel on the list- The Prince Park Tokyo Hotel.

"Wow!" Kouki's jaw dropped when they entered the hotel's chapel.

It was absolutely incredible! The very front of the chapel was a glass wall that showed off the entire forest greenery outside. It was as if the trees themselves were inside the room, right behind them.

"Do you like it, Kouki?" Seijuurou asked, holding his mate. The alpha was glad to see the happy expression on his fiancé's face.

"This is so beautiful." The omega almost whispered, his eyes never leaving the beautiful forest outside.

Mibuchi grinned, happy that Kouki found something he liked, "So is this to your liking Kou-kun? Even if the wedding is indoors, we can still bring in the lovely beauty of nature to suit your tastes."

"This is exactly what I wanted," Kouki smiled, started to feel an inkling of excitement for the first time about actually having a wedding ceremony.

Unfortunately, Kouki was not as impressed by any of the hotel's reception areas than he was with their chapel. Thinking that the rooms were too glam and glitzy for him, Kouki decided that getting married at this hotel wouldn't be the right one neither.

With the previous hotel giving him a shred of hope that maybe getting married in a hotel would actually be alright, the omega looked more excited to visit the next venues.

The next hotel they visited, The Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, was located in the middle of the city and with no peeks of nature or even real flowers in any of the rooms or chapel. Kouki found the feeling of everything to being too stiff and corporal.

Hotel Gajoen Tokyo was perfect...for a traditional Japanese wedding. Their shrine and Japanese garden was absolutely breathtaking. It was prefect for a Shinto wedding. But for their western wedding, the chapels and reception rooms left much to be desired for the couple's tastes.

Palace Hotel Tokyo had an amazing chapel with a full glass wall like The Prince Park Hotel did, but the view it showed wasn't as nice as the other hotel- it showed a nice view of the gardens, but you could still see Tokyo's streets and buildings everywhere. Again, the couple was unsatisfied.

Imperial Hotel Tokyo was one of the most oldest but highly rated hotels in Japan. Their Sakura room was amazing and it was the first reception area Kouki actually liked. The room had glass walls that would show off the beautiful Sakura trees during the time of their wedding, and the room itself was so spacious and very lovely with Sakura chandeliers and scattered Sakura petal carpeting.

But unfortunately, this hotel did not have a wedding chapel, and that was a deal breaker for the couple.

Kouki sighed heavily as he dropped down and took a seat in the chapel at the Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel. The trio had been going around Tokyo all day, only taking a break for lunch, trying to find a good venue to hold their wedding in.

Seijuurou sat beside him and rubbed his back, leaning forward to give him a kiss. "Are you okay, love?"

Kouki rested his head on the redhead's shoulder and shook his head. "I'm just feeling tired. I wish we can find our venue soon."

Mibuchi came up to them, giving the tired omega a small smile. "So is this hotel also not the one?"

Kouki looked at the fake painted garden around the chapel, his expression clearly unimpressed. "No."

The beta looked thoughtful as he checked his notes. "Why don't we just visit two more places and then call it a day? In case we still don't find anything, we'll just continue looking next weekend- maybe I'll have a few other options with gardens next time?" He suggested.

Kouki didn't look very hopeful at that, but he agreed to look at the two last wedding venues for the day.

The trio got out of their car and was greeted by an unassuming but very elegant hotel that was surrounded by a luxury garden oasis in the heart of Tokyo.

Kouki was smiling ear to ear, filled with excitement as he looked around at the beautiful greenery that surrounded them. "Oh my god." Was all he could think to say. He stared at the abundance of camellias floating in the wind.

Seijuurou was also smiling as he looked at their surroundings. "This is utterly breath-taking. I can just imagine Kouki and I taking a relaxing stroll here days before the wedding."

Mibuchi felt a twisting feeling in his gut, telling him that they may have just found the one.

As they entered the hotel's lobby, Kouki grinned at the interior. It had like a Japanese-Victorian mix style with delicate Japanese furniture pieces but with comfortable coaches and armchairs for the guests and it was cornered by a warm wood paneling that gave it a elegant but homey feeling.

"What is the name of this place?" Kouki wondered, sitting on one of the soft coaches.

"This is the [Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo](http://www.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.com/)." The main manager of the hotel had answered, smiling at them as he offered them a tour through their hotel grounds.

Holding hands with his fiancé, the brunette gave a small smile. The hotel really did match its name- 'Chizanso' meaning, 'villa on a mountain of camellias'.

"The garden scenery is always changing here at our hotel. In the winter, our lovely gardens show off the beautiful plum blossoms and camellias, which we are famous for. For autumn, we have breathtaking foliage. In summer, the fireflies dance around the hydrangea and crape-mrytle. And for spring, we are one of the top spots for Sakura (cherry blossom) viewing. But there are also lovely azalea and irises that also hold their own in terms of beauty." The hotel manager explained, showing them around the gardens.

Kouki was awe-struck by just how beautiful everything was. It was completely Japanese but at the same time, Kouki had a hard time believing that they were still in Japan, let alone in Tokyo. This place looked more like a movie set, something fantasy-like and not reality.

They were taken to the hotel's [chapel](http://www.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.com/banquet-meetings/weddings/) and Kouki nearly fainted in giddiness at the sight of the glass wall showing off the entire garden in all its wonder.

Approving the chapel, they all prayed that they wouldn't be disappointed by the reception areas.

For an Akashi wedding, of course they needed to go with the large banquet rooms. Masaomi wouldn't allow his son to marry in anything less grand. And at the hotel, they had four different large banquets to choose from.

Their very largest room with a capacity of 770 people for banquet-style (the seating that the couple chose for their wedding reception) was called the Orion.

This ballroom was HUGE and there was an entire wall made of glass. The only shame was that it showed a view of the next door buildings instead of the hotel's vast gardens.

The second largest room with a capacity of 300 people was the Ballroom.

This one was still very large and the view of the gardens from the terrace was beautiful. It was almost perfect and it could have been the one, but there was just something very closed about it that bothered the omega a little.

The third largest room with a capacity of 280 people was the Jupiter.

This room was also lovely....but like the previous two, the view of the buildings wasn't something they liked and it just didn't feel right.

And the final room, smaller than the rest but still impressive with a capacity of 150 was the Galaxy.

Kouki was already thinking about going with the ballroom, but when he walked into the final room, Galaxy, the brunette could literally feel his heart stop.

This was it.

The [Galaxy](http://www.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.com/banquet-meetings/large-banquet-halls/galaxy/%20) room may have been the smallest of the four, but this room was so spacious and would easily fit all of their wedding guests. The lovely gold shimmering chandelier above would match perfectly for their wedding and the whole room just felt so open and light, with a few sofas as well for the guests to relax on.

But what won the omega over was that this room was connected to its own private garden- giving the guests a choice of partying inside but also being able to take a nice stroll in the garden outside as a breather from all the partying.

Kouki wasn't even listening, too busy looking at everything, when Mibuchi was explaining that they could replace the blue carpeting to match their theme and that they could even fit a dance floor in the center of the room for everyone to enjoy.

Mibuchi and Seijuurou watched as Kouki looked around the room in awe. Exchanging knowing smiles with one another, Seijuurou walked up to his mate while Mibuchi grinned as he asked the omega the very important question, "Kou-chan? Is this where you want to hold your wedding ceremony and reception at?" He was already planning to book the hotel rooms and suites for them and their wedding entourage and guests.

"Kouki?" Seijuurou called out to his mate gently, holding the other by the waist and watching as his mate looked at back him with the same awestruck expression he had the entire time he had walked into the room. "Shall we get married here?"

Kouki breathed out slowly before nodding his head, smiling wider than he had all day. "Yes!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

As soon as their wedding venue was decided, Mibuchi immediately started on planning the wedding decor and arranged the seating chart for the reception.

From the aisle runner to the candles to the flower vases to napkins and tablecloths.... Mibuchi was on work mode as he set up the entire wedding, making continuous visits to the Chinzanso to coordinate with their own events specialist about the details and arrangements for the wedding.

"How about having ice sculptures on each table?" Mibuchi asked Seijuurou, placing two different shades of red tablecloth before him to see which one would match the gold dinnerware he had chosen for the reception. He was currently at Seijuurou's dorm room, sitting on his bed as he continued with all the planning.

Seijuurou looked up from the graduation speech he was writing (graduation was still a month's away, but it never hurt to be prepared) and raised an eyebrow at the older boy, "I'm not quite sure how ice would match our theme of red and gold." The redhead pointed out. "They give off more of a fire feeling, to be honest."

The beta's eyes brightened up as he thought of something else, "Ooh! What about fire coming out from each side of the aisle, so when Kou-chan walks down, he'll be surrounded in flames?" He said excitedly.

The alpha shook his head immediately. "Absolutely not. I will not allow my bond mate and soon to be husband to be anywhere near something as dangerous as that." He said sternly.

Mibuchi looked disappointed, but understood the younger man's point. "Okay, fine. Anyway back to the centrepieces, so it's a no on the ice sculptures? I was also thinking of chocolate and sugar art sculptures." The beta offered some of the images that he had researched to the redhead.

Seijuurou looked at the pictures for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Knowing all our friends, they will probably consume the centrepieces before Kouki and I make our entrance to the reception." He pointed out.

Mibuchi groaned as he flopped onto the alpha's bed. "You're right! Those buffoons would eat the entire thing or break them even before the meal starts!"

Seijuurou gave his distraught friend a small pat on the shoulder before turning back to working on his speech.

With the wedding a few weeks away, Mibuchi decided it was time for them to make one of the major decisions for the wedding.

It was time to go wedding clothes shopping.

Kouki fell onto the store's couch, wondering how the hell he found himself in the same nightmare again.

Said nightmare was going shopping with fashionistas Momoi and Kise. But this time, Mibuchi and Riko were also here, making this nightmare into an utter hell.

It had started off alright. They had started choosing what Kouki would be wearing since his outfit would be the most important for that day, with him being one of the grooms and all.

That had lasted for an hour, but Kouki felt like it had gone on for a century. He constantly had to go back and forth between the changing room and the area where everyone was seated. Then he had to endure them talking loudly, either loving or critizing whatever Kouki was in, before forcing the omega back into the changing room to change into another outfit.

His maniac friends would actually make him change a tie or a pair of shoes or even the undershirt he wore right there in front of them, making him feel like a mannequin or a rag doll as they would change him themselves if he took too slow.

And one of the fights the group had gotten into was if the brunette should wear a suit or a kimono. Riko and Kise argued that they should go with a wedding suit since it was western wedding and Seijuurou was also wearing a suit (the redhead himself had gone shopping with this crazy group a few days before). While Mibuchi and Momoi insisted that Kouki was still Japanese and he matched perfectly with the kimono that they gotten him to try on earlier.

Kouki finally had to put his foot down to all this crazy behavior when he found himself standing pantless in front of everyone as they all argued about which shade of white pants he should wear.

Threatening to wear only a shirt and jeans down the aisle, Kouki's friends finally made up with one another and the rest of Kouki's fitting went smoothly.

After the brunette had his outfit picked out (while wondering how his fiancé managed to get through his own fittings with the crazy bunch) they proceeded onto the grooms' parties clothing.

For the men, they chose their suits fairly quickly. All the groomsmen's attire would be the same- with a black suit with a bit of gold on the tie and a gold pocket chain with a folded red handkerchief on the suit pocket.

For the [flower girl](https://www.polyvore.com/bridal_party/set?id=227430007), Seijuurou and Kouki both made an unanimous decision and chose Midorima Chiasa as their flower girl.

She would be wearing an adorable dress with a yellow top and a gold skirt with a yellow belt around the waist and white flower on the side. She would also wear a light yellow faux fur shrug shoulder cape, gold ballerina shoes and a pretty golden hair band on her head. And she will have a gorgeous, vintage-inspired flower girl basket to carry her flowers in.

For the [ring bearer](https://www.polyvore.com/grooms_party/set?id=227430862), Kouki automatically knew that he wanted his godson, Kouki Katsuki-Nikiforov, to be their ring bearer. So after making a nervous call to a certain famous figure skater (they had exchanged numbers after Kouki's accident), they had gotten the parent's agreement to have little Kouki be the ring bearer.

Little Kouki will be dressed in a burgundy suit jacket with black dress pants and a red vest and tie inside. And even though the baby wasn't able to walk yet, he would also be wearing shiny gold baby shoes. And the couple's rings will be placed on a champagne-colored pillow with white flower embroidery.

Everything had been going well.

Until hell number two happened when they had moved onto the women's attire.

It was already decided that Riko and Tae would be wearing a gold gown since they were in Kouki's party while Momoi would be in red since she was in Seijuurou's party. Other than that, the design of all their dresses would be the same.

All the girls would also be in the same hairstyle (a low, loose messy bun that would work on both long and short hair) pinned up with a gold and red topaz flower clip, gold, red garnet and diamond hanging earrings, gold, ruby and diamond bracelets, and red and gold high stiletto heels.

All clothes and accessories were being provided by the Akashi family, of course. And as an added bonus, everyone would be able to keep these expensive items even after the wedding.

So with everything mostly already set, the final major roadblock they hit was what type of dress all three girls would look good in.

Riko wanted the dress with long sleeves and a skin-tight fit around the waist and hips that gave her body figure curves that she never had before. Momoi on the other hand wanted the dress with the sweetheart neckline and a plunging back so it laid everything bare for all to see and a thigh-high slit in the side that showed off her legs. Neither girl wanted to wear the other's dress since neither of the other's dresses looked good on them and soon they gotten into a fight over it.

"I look so fat in this!" Momoi cried, the dress that Riko wanted made her look like a sausage almost breaking out of its case. And her chest area felt as if the dress was suffocating her.

"I look like a hooker!" Riko said with disgust, the dress that Momoi wanted showing off too much of her body, making her boyish figure even more noticeable. She looked like a boy crossdressing in his older sister's dress.

Kouki knew better than to laugh at their appearance (though he was really close to doing so). He just watched tiredly from his spot on the couch as the two girls screamed at each other while Mibuchi tried to calm them down while Kise held up other options for them to try. Even the shop attendants avoided their group, not wanting to deal with the two angry female customers.

Sighing, Kouki decided to help out with the situation (although he had no idea about fashion).

Going up to one of the shop attendants, Kouki gave them an apologetic look, "I'm sorry for the racket that my friends are making. I was wondering if you knew a dress style that would look good on any girl?"

The attendant smiled at him, wincing as the girl's shouting became louder, before telling Kouki, "For all body types, an a-line dress with a scoop neck or with cap sleeves is highly recommended. Would you like me to show you some, sir?"

The omega nodded his gratefully. "Yes, please."

As the attendant showed Kouki a few dresses in the chosen styles, the brunette came across a lovely sea foam green a-line long gown with a scoop neck and an intricate sparkly design over it.

Kouki smiled at the dress before turning to the attendant and asking if the dress came in gold and red. The attendant nodded and brought out two dresses in those colors.

Carrying the dresses, Kouki brought them back to the group, seeing Riko and Momoi still going at each other.

Bringing up two fingers to his mouth, Kouki blew out a loud whistle, catching everyone's attention.

Flushing a bit at being the center of attention, Kouki held up the two dresses. "Here. I don't know much about what looks good or not, but it would make me happy if you two tried these on. Please?" He gave them his best pleading look.

The girls accepted his request, unable to say no to those brown wide pleading eyes, as they took the dresses and went back into the changing room to change.

Three minutes later, they reemerged and everyone gasped at the sight of both girls.

Kouki beamed. "So...shall we purchase everything and head out now?"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"First off, I would like to express my gratitude to you all for agreeing to be a vital and important part of Kouki and I's wedding. Thank you." Seijuurou smiled around the table, surrounded by his entire wedding party.

He had invited them all out to an okonomiyaki restaurant (unlike his friends, there were just so many times Seijuurou could stand to eat at Maji Burger) and had just announced that he had chosen the miracles and the other two uncrowned kings (Wedding planner Mibuchi was at the Chinzanso, planning out the setup to their ceremony and reception) as his wedding party.

"None taken, Akashi-kun. We are the ones that are grateful to be chosen to take part of your special day with Furihata-kun." Kuroko assured him, taking small nibbles of his small serving of the store's regular okonomiyaki.

"Yeah, and don't be so stiff about it, Akashi. It's not like any of us here would say no to free food." Aomine grinned, yelping when Momoi smacked him.

"Don't mind Dai-chan! We would come for you and Kou-kun no matter what!" Momoi corrected, smiling happily.

"I'm so excited! I can't wait for you to see the wedding suit we got for Furihatacchi!" Kise squealed, waving his spatula in the air.

Seijuurou smiled. "I look forward to seeing Kouki that day as well, Ryouta. And please place your spatula down- you accidentally gotten some ingredients on Shintarou." He pointed out.

Midorima glared at a sheepish Kise before turning back to the redhead. "My congratulations as well, Akashi. It is not a surprise that you are the first of us to be married."

"Yeah, I seriously thought you guys would have tied the knot one week after mating." Hayama agreed, putting extra mayonnaise on his okonomiyaki.

"I'd give it one month." Nebuya added, stuffing his face into the pork and cheese okonomiyaki.

"Congrats to you and Furi-chin, Aka-chin." Murasakibara said pleasantly, eating his own kimchee and natto okonomiyaki. The purple giant had come all the way from Akita to be there.

"So is that the only reason you have gathered us all here, or is there something else Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked, stealthily trying to push the rest of his unfinished okonomiyaki towards Aomine.

"Firstly, I see what you are doing. Finish your own food, Tetsuya." Seijuurou raised on eyebrow at the phantom man.

"Kurokocchi! You'll never get bigger if you don't eat all your food!" Kise scolded him as well, putting some of his own seafood okonomiyaki on the blunette's plate.

Kuroko pouted (though it hardly showed) and began to nibble at the new piece.

"And secondly, I am also here to announce who I have chosen to be as my best man." Seijuurou told them.

Everyone, even Midorima although he tried not to show it, looked interested and some excited, to find out who it was.

Seijuurou looked around the table for a few more seconds to rise up the anticipation before finally speaking, "It would be my great honor if my best man were to be....you, Kuroko Tetsuya."

The blunette's eyes widened as he was actually caught off guard. "Me? Really, Akashi-kun?"

Seijuurou smiled as he nodded. "I could think of no one better than you, Tetsuya. If it weren't for you, I would have never even met Kouki and he also agrees that you had a vital part in getting us together. In fact, had you been in Kouki's wedding party, he would have made you his man of honor instead, no hesitations." He assured him.

"Who will be Kou-kun's maid or man of honor, Akashi-kun?" Momoi asked, curiously.

"Kouki has chosen to announce it when all of his wedding party is assembled- two of his party is living abroad and will not be able to be here until the day of the wedding itself." The alpha explained.

Momoi looked even more curious now. "Abroad? Who are they?"

Seijuurou gave her a secret smile. "It's a secret." Turning back to the stunned blunette, the alpha asked him gently, "So, Tetsuya. Are you alright with being my best man for Kouki and I's wedding?"

Kuroko blushed as the beta gave him an actual visible wide smile on his face. "Then I would be honored to. Thank you, Akashi-kun." He accepted.

Momoi squealed as she hugged the blunette close, once again almost suffocating him with her bosom, "I'm so happy for you, Tetsu-kun!"

Kise also hugged the beta from his other side. "Me too! Me too!"

Aomine smirked as he pointed out, "That means you're in charge of the bachelor's party. Remember, Tetsu. The bigger, the better." He said lewdly, making large mounds around his chest area.

Kuroko deadpanned. "No, Aomine-kun."

Midorima rolled his eyes at them as he sighed. "If the bachelor party involves anything inappropriate, I inform you all right now that refuse to attend." He frowned.

"Ohhhh...bachelor party?" Hayama repeated, looking immensely interested in this.

"I call buffet for the party. A meat buffet!" Nebuya chimed in.

Seijuurou shook his head in a fond manner at all his friends. Feeling his sleeve being tugged, Seijuurou turned to see his tallest friend pulling on his shirt. "Yes, Atsushi?"

"There will be wedding cake, Aka-chin? Furi-chin likes desserts and cake too, so there should be a wedding cake." Murasakibara told him, eyes sparkling at having a tall and large cake to eat.

The redhead chuckled as he brought his hand up to pat the other's shoulder, nodding. "Yes, Atsushi. There will definitely be wedding cake."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Have you two sent out your wedding invitations yet?" Masaomi questioned his son and soon-to-be son-in-law as they rode towards the restaurant Mibuchi reserved for their wedding tasting.

This was the first time the Akashi head was involved during the wedding planning- although the older man was well-informed through every step of the wedding, making sure that he was kept well aware of everything happening. Since the head had some free time for just two hours, he accepted the offer to join the tastings for the reception meal.

Seijuurou nodded, "Yes, father. We have sent them out two days ago."

Their [wedding invitations](http://denniswisser.com/product/red-velvet-wedding-invitation-box-with-flat-hinged-lid-and-luxury-golden-pearl-brooch/) were printed on expensive linen paper and placed inside a red velvet box with flat hinged lid and a luxury golden pearl brooch.

Masaomi nodded his head in approval. "And I trust that you have decided a wedding favor for your guests that is appropriate for the Akashi name?"

Kouki, who had been listening to Mibuchi explain where the photo booth at the reception would be placed, looked up when he heard the mention of hikidemono (Japanese gifts for guests) "I refuse to give our guests a Yubari King Melon each."

Masaomi frowned as Seijuurou sighed. "I still do not see why you would disapprove, Kouki- I for one highly recommend their taste and texture. They are truly high quality." The redhead told the other.

Kouki gave his mate an unamused look. "We are not giving out 2 million yen worth of melon EACH to every guest at our party. That's just insane." He was well aware that his fiancé was rich and that Masaomi wouldn't mind spending billions of yen for his only son's wedding...but the omega had to draw the line somewhere.

Masaomi raised an eyebrow, "For my wedding with Shiori, we gifted our guests an entire blue fin tuna each." He pointed out.

The omega didn't look impressed at all. "Well, that is good for your wedding. But for our wedding, we are not giving out 2 million yen melons."

The Akashi head had a fond smile on his face as he looked at Kouki with admiration, "You remind me so much of Shiori when she got haughty at times."

Kouki also added, "And I know that you're planning on giving those expensive bowl and chopstick sets Sei, and I said that I don't approve of that neither."

Seijuurou gave his mate a pleading look. "But our guests would love to have their own fine-quality dinnerware."

Kouki shook his head, "Our friends would be too scared to eat from them at all if they knew that it cost 500k yen! Besides, I already agreed to the basketballs, watches, electric heat vest, ears open bone conduction earphones, gorone desk, box trio containing tosenka, baumkuchen and ohka shigure, the luxury rice crackers and even those square watermelons that you kept begging for."

Seijuurou had a thoughtful look on his face. "How do you feel about switching out the square watermelons with the Densuke Black Watermelons instead?" He offered.

"No." Kouki said flatly.

Masaomi chuckled at the rejected look on his son's face, already calculating his own chances of sneaking a few high quality treats into the wedding menu without the omega knowing.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were seated in the private booth and their server explained the three different menus that they would be bringing out for them to enjoy.

The three menus contained a different cuisine each- the French menu, the Chinese menu and the Japanese menu.

The French menu was very delicious- the Grilled alfonsino with seasonal vegetables 'comme le jardin' with bisque and the Roasted french duck breast with poêlé of foie gras specifically a big hit with their table.

"How do you feel about serving these foods during your wedding, Kou-chan?" Mibuchi questioned.

Kouki thought about it for a minute as he looked down at his mango pudding. "I like it. All the dishes were great and the duck was my favorite."

For the Chinese menu, the food was also delicious (especially the Braised sliced abalone with pa ling mushrooms in oyster sauce) but the table all agreed that the menu itself just didn't seem to fit into their wedding as a whole.

"The abalone was lovely, but most of the dishes on this menu contain shellfish of some kind and due to his allergy, Kouki isn't able to eat them." Seijuurou pointed out, making sure his mate was okay and that he didn't accidentally consume any of those shellfish dishes.

Kouki smiled as he pecked his fiancé on the cheek. "I'm okay, Sei. But I agree that it would be best for the Chinese menu to not be at our wedding."

The final menu was the traditional japanese kaiseki menu. This was a multi-course Japanese dinner made up of beautifully plated dishes. It was also what was traditionally served during Japanese wedding ceremonies.

The entire table enjoyed the entire japanese meal immensely, giving high praise especially to the wagyu beef dish.

"So, this is the menu you two choose, correct?" Mibuchi asked to make sure, writing down what their menu will be, making a few changes to Kouki's meal to substitute any shellfish in his meal while Seijuurou requested absolutely no traces of seaweed in all his dishes.

Kouki looked at his fiancé and smiled when the redhead nodded his head, tasting the porridge. Looking back at Mibuchi, he also nodded, "We'll go with this menu."

Their main menu decided, Mibuchi also informed them that each table with also have their own traditional japanese wedding [sushi cake](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5b/8d/74/5b8d7403a383e7419c92359da004e322.jpg) and multiple hors d'oeuvres and desserts.

Because with most of their guests being big athletic high-school boys with a hearty appetite, the kaiseki meal would NOT be enough to satisfy these beasts.

"So the hors d'oeuvres and desserts that will be arranged on the tables will be from the hotel's special Green Tea Menu." Mibuchi explained.

"The Green Tea Menu?" Masaomi questioned, taking a sip from the hotel's special cocktail, Perfect Eden. (There will be alcohol available at the reception, but only to the adults- no high schoolers or anyone underaged were allowed even a sip).

"The Green Tea Menu features small savory and sweet dishes and desserts that are all made of green tea. I thought it'd be perfect for the wedding." Mibuchi replied.

Although he was stuffed from tasting the previous three meals, Kouki was able to make a little more room for dessert.

The Green Tea Menu consisted of a variety hors d'oeuvres such as the mini cucumber sandwiches with green tea and cress, savory green tea sphere with poached cod and curry sauce inside, green tea chawanmushi (savory egg custard) and a melon green tea gazpacho.

For the desserts, they decided to get all of them- the green tea gold gâteau mille crepe, green tea blood orange tiramisu, green tea black sesame pudding sphere, green tea hibiscus panna cotta, green tea sakura rare cheese dessert, and the green tea affogatos, brownies, madeleines and macaroons.

"I really like these." Seijuurou commented, taking a sip from the green tea shooter (foamy green tea topped with ginger creme fraiche and a hint of wasabi).

"We'll add that to the menu too then." Mibuchi said happily, noting it down on his tablet. Looking up, the beta wore a smirk on his face. "So....who's up for wedding cake tasting next?"

The beta laughed heartily at the answering groan from Kouki with the identical grimaces on both the Akashi men's faces at the very notion of more food for that day.

THE FINAL WEDDING MENU:

APPETIZER- Steamed sea urchin, tofu, perilla, wasabi, soy sauce  
APPETIZER IN BOXES- Five colored pickled dish, sole fish, salmon roe, seaweed, cucumber, capisicum  
-Anago sushi, pink ginger  
-Boiled arrowhead, cucumber and cheese, plum flower shaped quail egg, wheat gluten ball, cheese omelet, fish cake and seaweed, stewed black beans  
SOUP- King crab meat ball, wakame seaweed, bamboo shoots  
SASHIMI- Ootoro, tuna, fugu, prawn, radish, carrot, japanese pepper, wasabi, soy sauce  
FISH- Grilled sea bream with yolk, crab roll with radish, pink ginger, basket shaped dried seaweed, deep fried scallop  
LOBSTER- Steamed lobster with tomato sauce and egg sauce, baby onion, potato with seaweed  
BEEF- Wagyu steak, Kobe steak and Fillet mignon, eggplant, sautéed matsutake mushrooms, leeks, lemon stewed sweet potato, wasabi nakazawa milk sauce  
RICE- Porridge with bonito stock sauce, sour plum, yuzu  
DESSERT- Yubari King Melon, strawberries, ruby roman grapes  
TEA & COFFEE  
WITH JAPANESE SUSHI CAKE, THE GREEN TEA MENU

...And of course, Kouki was kept in the dark about what the whole menu truly consisted of and costed.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

They ended up doing their cake testing three days later.

But this time, Masaomi couldn't come along due to having some business he needed to take care of in Osaka. So instead, Mibuchi requested help from another of the couple's friends.

"Ah! Murasakibara-kun!" Kouki gasped in surprise, seeing the purple haired giant drooling at the cake display in front of the shop.

"Atsushi." Seijuurou called out, also pleasantly surprised that the purple haired alpha was accompanying their cake tasting.

"I've asked Mura-kun to accompany us since I've heard that he's planning on taking culinary for college, and I decided that his input would be very useful today." Mibuchi explained.

Murasakibara looked away from the delicious looking cakes as he nodded at what the beta said. "I want to be a patisserie and open my own pastry shop." He told them, looking back at all the cakes.

The couple looked at each other and chuckled, knowing that a career in baking would be perfect for the sweet-tooth giant.

Taking a seat inside the room, their cake consultant first asked them what kind of design they are looking for in their cake.

Seijuurou looked at Kouki while the brunette looked a bit lost about it. "Umm....I never really thought about it before." Kouki's said sheepishly.

"Neither have I." Seijuurou admitted.

"Is there a certain way you want your cake to look? Like, do you want it in the traditional white or in your wedding's gold and red?" Mibuchi urged.

Kouki looked thoughtful. "....I don't really like flowers on a cake." He brunette commented, making a face at one of the flowery wedding cakes displayed in the store.

The cake consultant giggled. "It's rare for someone to not want flowers on their wedding cake, since most wedding cakes do have flowers on them. But I'm sure we'll be able to omit the flowers and create the cake to both you and your fiancé's liking." She assured him.

"I'm okay with one or two flowers on it, though." Kouki compromised, not wanting to make a fuss.

Seijuurou hugged him from the side before giving out his own preferences. "I am not too specific about the design, but I would like it to look extravagant and unique- just like our wedding. Also, I would prefer a white wedding cake. I am anot too keen on adding various colors to it." He informed her.

The cake consultant nodded and Mibuchi told her that he would be back in two days to look over the final design for the cake that would suit the engaged couple.

Afterwards, they moved on to what Murasakibara was looking forward to the most- the cake tasting.

They were given two plates of cake samples (with Kouki, Seijuurou and Mibuchi sharing one plate, and Murasakibara having the other plate all to himself).

"I'm very fond of the Spice cake & white chocolate chai ganache." Seijuurou told them, pointing towards the sponge cake with a combination of cinnamon, mace, allspice, and nutmeg, and filled with a rich white chocolate chai ganache and dark chocolate buttercream.

Kouki hummed as he tried another piece of cake. "So far, my favorite is the Smore's cake." He said, really enjoying the graham cracker cake with dark valrhona ganache and toasted marshmallow buttercream.

Mibuchi made a delicious noise as he pointed at the cute pink cake. "This Strawberry champagne cake is to die for!" He squealed, falling in love with the moist pink champagne sponge cake, filled with seedless strawberry jam and drizzled with strawberry champagne.

"Atsushi?" Seijuurou called out when the other alpha didn't voice his own opinion on which cake he preferred. "Which cake is to your liking?"

Murasakibara hummed as he looked at his almost empty plate. "I like the hazelnut cake... and the pumpkin cake... and the lemon raspberry cake... and the key lime cake... and the dark chocolate fudge cake......"

"Only one, Mursakibara-kun," Kouki reminded the other, sweatdropping as the purple giant pretty much named majority of the cakes.

Murasakibara tilted his head as he thought before finally saying, "Fudge cake with peppermint chocolate mousse & meringue buttercream." He pointed towards their plate with the rich chocolate fudge cake with light peppermint chocolate mousse, and a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, sprinkled with crushed peppermints when served.

When the group still couldn't agree on a flavor, the cake consultant walked back into the room and told them that they could choose more than one flavor for their cake.

"Also, our shop would like you to sample our newest cake creation for this spring- just in time for your wedding." She smiled, handing them each a small plate of light pink and green cake.

"This is our exclusive spring special, the [Sakura](http://www.myfudo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSC_4916_2-211.jpg) and green tea adzuki layered cake. It is a green tea sponge and sakura sponge cake with alternating layers of green tea adzuki bean mousse and sakura mousse topped with a pickled sakura when served." She explained.

The cake had a bottom layer of green tea sponge, topped with green tea mousse mixed with adzuki beans. Over that was a layer of sakura sponge and topped with the Sakura mousse. Covering the whole thing with a thin layer of whipped cream and topped with a pickled Sakura.

Kouki took a bite of the green tea and sakura cake and his eyes lit up at the taste. It had an exotic taste to it and the pickled sakura had a tangy sourness to it, similar to pickled plums. The cake itself was light and not at all too sweet with the salty-sour sakura matching well with the slight bitterness of the green tea. And both mousses were fluffy, adding a light texture to the whole cake.

"This is very unique. But also yummy." Mibuchi commented, when he tried the cake.

"It's matches Aka-chin and Furi-chin." Murasakibara mentioned, already finished with his slice and eating the rest of Seijuurou's.

"What do you think, Kouki?" Seijuurou asked his fiancé, looking at him with a gentle smile.

Kouki smiled back at him before looking back at their cake consultant. "How would you be able to use this in a wedding cake? Wouldn't the cakes from the top tiers put pressure onto the mousse?" The omega asked, concerned about the structure of the cake (he was planning on taking architecture in college, so he couldn't help but be critical about the building of a structure, even if it was cake).

"We would be able to use this at the bottom, as a platform. But we would be able to place a stand over it that would be the main support of the top tiers, placing no pressure on this cake at all." She explained.

"So if we place this flavor as our bottom layer, we would be able to choose an additional flavor for the other tiers?" Seijuurou questioned.

The cake consultant nodded. "Yes, I would personally suggest choosing one flavor for the rest of the cakes and one special flavor for the top tier."

"I think we should choose Mexican chocolate as our second flavor." Seijuurou suggested to his fiancé, showing the chocolate cake spiced with cinnamon and cayenne, then paired with a cinnamon-spiced mexican chocolate buttercream and a single layer of bittersweet chocolate fudge. "It's very different than the usual cake and I'm sure the spiciness will be a hit for all the men. And I'm sure women would love the chocolate in this as well." He explained.

Kouki took another taste of the slice before nodding his head. "You're right. Everyone loves chocolate and the spiciness adds just the right amount of kick to it." The brunette agreed. He then pointed to the cake that Seijuurou has mentioned he liked the most. "And lets do the Spice cake & white chocolate chai ganache for the top tier."

His alpha looked at him with surprised eyes. "Are you sure, love? I thought you liked the smore's flavor." He reminded the other.

Kouki smiled as he reached forward to hold his fiancé's hand. "I do, but I rather the last flavor be something you love. This wedding is for the both of us so it would make me happier if you also got some of the things you wanted too." He pouted.

Seijuurou kissed his pout away, grinning full of love for his mate. "I love you Kouki."

Kouki was blushing, but he was smiling widely in return. "I love you too Sei."

The cake consultant cooed at their cute display while Murasakibara went to get another plate of cake samples to 'try' while Mibuchi was immediately logging their final cake flavors onto his notes.

"Okay, so leave the cake design to me so you two can be surprised on your wedding day." Mibuchi told them. "With the cake done, I need to get the ceremony programs printed and....transportation. How would you like to enter your ceremony- by horse and carriage? Helicopter? Limo? Although that wouldn't be very special since Sei-chan travels in his personal one often. What about being carried like a king by all your wedding parties- men only, of course." He added.

Kouki blinked at that. "Is just walking into the ceremony an option?"

Mibuchi paused. "We'll discuss the details later. Anyway, I want to make sure that you have your wedding rings prepared, yes?" The beta looked towards the redhead for confirmation.

Seijuurou nodded. "I've chosen our wedding rings and Kouki and I have put our engravements inside each other's ring- we haven't told the other what we've written, deciding to keep it as another surprise for our wedding." He informed the beta.

Mibuchi nodded, satisfied by his answer as he placed a reminder to pick up the wedding rings when they were finished.

Kouki watched the beta type into his tablet with a small smile on his face. "Reo-nee?"

The older boy paused as he looked up to a smile at the omega. "Yes? What is it, Kou-chan?"

"Me, and I'm sure Sei, would just like to say how grateful we are to you for helping us prepare for our wedding. Without you, all of this would be nothing but a mess right now. So thank you for being such an amazing wedding planner, Reo-nee. You're so good that you should definitely think about doing this for a career, if you're interested." He offered.

Mibuchi looked surprised by the suggestion. "Really? Me? A professional wedding planner?"

Seijuurou also jumped into the conversation, telling his good friend, "You've look happier helping us plan our wedding than I've seen you look when you were still studying." He pointed out.

Mibuchi looked thoughtful. "Well, even though it's a lot of work, I just feel so excited when I'm doing this- I feel way better planing a wedding than studying Foundations of Styling and Distribution." He admitted.

Perking up, Mibuchi grinned at the couple. "I'll think about it. And you're welcome, but I should be the one thanking you guys for giving me something to be passionate about." He winked at them.

Kouki beamed as Seijuurou gave his friend a fond smile. "We shall look forward to whatever you decide to do in the future. Well then, shall we make our leave now?"

And the small group of four finally made their exit from the cake shop, fortunately with them being able to convince Murasakibara to buy only one cake before they left.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Now, I will call forth the valedictorian for this school year to come and make his speech. Please give a warm welcome to Akashi Seijuurou." Seijuurou stood up and bowed to Takeda-sensei, school principal of Rakuzan High School.

The redhead went up to the podium and smiled at the excited crowd. His eyes met those of his fiancé's in the crowd, his smile widening as he saw Kouki watching him with brimming pride and love for him. Taking a deep breath, Seijuurou faced the entire audience and began his speech.

"Good afternoon. I, Akashi Seijuurou, am proud to be chosen as your valedictorian for this school year. I am honored to be welcoming everyone to this solemn and heartwarming event.

"This is the end of our past. From now on, we shall now embrace the future bravely. The future is not something we need to dream about anymore, for it is right here, where our hands can reach. It truly begins here, today.

"Some of us will continue to study, and others will go straight to work. But every single one of us will walk down the path that is only meant for us. It does not matter where we are headed or what we accomplish, for I assure you that there are challenges waiting for us. I dare to ask to you and myself, to defeat those challenges straight on with your head held high and your heart opened but protected. The path through life is difficult and hostile. But I encourage you and myself included to try to excel in everything we do.

"'Make excellence your odyssey at every task.'

"Three years has passed and now here we are, ready to graduate. We fiercely worked to meet this achievement, feat accomplished not by ourselves alone. We owe a glorious debt of gratitude to the following individuals:

"To Kamisama, thank you for letting us breathe, eat and stand against our own difficulties. Thank you for placing us the right people in our path.

"To our parents, thank you for overcoming our unpleasant puberty as we grew, and continued to support us in uncountable ways, as only a parent can.

"To our teachers and school staff, thank you for sharing your time, your talent and knowledge with us. Yes, it is your job to do so, but what you have done for us is way beyond your duty. You set a stand and told us to walk there, where only glory awaits for us.

"To our coaches and club advisors, thank you for letting us know that school is more than just classwork. You showed us the true meaning of sports, music or arts and how to overcome adversity and to give our best effort at every situation. You showed us how imperative discipline is and our coaches especially have showed us team work to achieve a common goal, and we all, especially I myself, have truly enjoyed every single second of it.

"To our senpai, kouhai and all our friends, thank you for choosing to stay with us, even during the times we actively tried pushing you away. For letting us know that we are never truly alone, for you will always be there for us and refuse to be forgotten.

"And now, I would like to point out special recognition to all those special loved ones who have stood by our sides through the good times and bad, who showered us with the love we ourselves are still in disbelief of how we could have ever been so lucky to have.

"For myself, I would like to specifically call out to my lovely bond mate and fiancé, Furihata Kouki. Thank you for being you. For sharing your love with me. For inspiring me to accept myself. For helping me see the unique beauty in imperfection and know that it's okay to not always win in everything. For showing me that love is something you do....something not just to be said, but also to be shown. Kouki, I would love to thank you from the bottom of my heart, but for you my heart has no bottom. I am so thankful and love you more than all the words in this world can express.

"So behind each one of us, there must be at least a dozen of individuals providing support in vast and unlimited ways. The best way we can show our gratitude is to stand here and graduate and continue forward in our lives knowing that you all helped us reach our destiny.

"It may not be easy to watch every achievement we have reached, but every single one of them is added to history. Our individual achievements will benefit society as a whole as we light up the initiative of our fellow man. Go to the world to give! Not to take.  
Live by your own potential; teach as you walk forward in life. Make the world an extraordinary place as you work to make your life successful, and make stunning contributions to society.

"We may not have the power to inspire the whole world to reach success, but we do have the power to try to meet the goal ourselves. I challenge each one of you, and myself, to do everything we can to reach our full potential. I encourage each one of the students of this graduation class to be able to reach their ultimate goal. Just imagine the effect that would have in the world. The future is truly within our hands. Now let us go forth, and create it!

"Thank you." Seijuurou grinned as the whole room erupted with loud cheer and hollering, everyone clapping when he finished his speech.

Afterwards, everything seemed to pass by in a blur. The graduation continued on smoothly after his speech and at the end, Seijuurou finally found himself with his high school diploma in his hands.

After the ceremony, Seijuurou informed his friends and father that before they go out to celebrate, he needed to stop by the student council room one last time to leave the keys there.

Placing the key on top of the president's desk, the alpha sighed as he looked around the room that had been named his since his very first year there.

"Wow. I never really noticed how big this room was until now." The redhead turned around and brightened as he saw his bond mate and fiancé standing at the doorway, taking in the empty room as well.

Seijuurou sat on the desktop, gesturing for the other to join him there, which Kouki did.

The couple was quietly as they sat together on the desk, taking it all in.

"You graduated, Sei." Kouki finally spoke up, giving his fiancé a proud look. "Congratulations. I'm so proud of you."

They exchanged a kiss before pulling away again, Seijuurou placing his hands over his mate's on the desk. "And I'll congratulate you as well when we go back to Tokyo to watch your graduation tomorrow." Seirin's graduation was the day after Rakuzan's, but all his friends still came all the way there to celebrate the redhead's achievement.

Seijuurou was truly a lucky man.

Kouki sighed as he shook his head. "I still don't know how we're gonna juggle three graduations on the same day." Touou and Kaijo was also graduating tomorrow. Shuutoku and Yosen had their graduations a few days before already.

Seijuurou chuckled as he kissed the other's cheek. "I'm sure we'll all figure something out. And at least all three graduations start at different times." He reminded the other.

Kouki frowned for a bit before finally accepting that. "I suppose you are right."

They were quiet for another moment before the omega spoke up again, "I don't think I've said it yet, but your speech was very lovely, Sei. And you even had me crying- especially during the part where you mentioned me. It sounded too much like a wedding vow that I was wondering if you'll have anything more to say on our actual wedding next week." He teased the other.

Seijuurou chuckled, "Oh, trust me. I've made sure that my wedding vows will be much more sincere and tear-inducing than today's speech."

Kouki laughed as he hugged the other. "Oh no. We should warn our guests to bring a tissue then- or we should provide them since there was alot of wet eyes in the crowd earlier."

They both chuckled, their laughter ringing inside the empty room.

"I still am in disbelief that high school is all over now. So much has happened during these three years.... Leaving still doesn't feel real yet." Seijuurou admitted.

Kouki gave him a gentle smile as he held their gazes together. "It's not all over, Sei. Only our high school life is done. And when one book ends... that just means that we'll be ready to start a whole new story. And in this story, we'll be starting our journey together this time." He reminded the other.

So much had happened to Seijuurou during the last three years. Tasting defeat for the first time, regaining back the friends that he had once lost, fixing his relationship with his father, finding his true self and learning that happiness doesn't entail always having to be the best, knowing that it's okay to be imperfect every once in a while...

Meeting Furihata Kouki, becoming close friends and later falling in love. Becoming boyfriends, then lovers, into bond mates, and now they were engaged to be married only a week away.

So much had happened.... And now that it was all over, Seijuurou could only feel a tiny bit sad but a lot more excited for what amazing things life would bring to him from now on.

Seijuurou smiled. "You are right as always, Kouki."

The both of them stayed seated for a little while longer, memories of the last three years playing in their minds, like a film reel rolling.

Taking a deep breath, Seijuurou got off the desk and carefully helped his fiancé down as well.

Clasping their hands tightly, Seijuurou looked at his bond mate. "Well, shall we head out?" He asked, smiling. "I'm sure my father and our friends are waiting for us."

"Yeah! It's time to celebrate!" Kouki beamed as his fiancé turned off the light before they both walked through the halls of Rakuzan, for the very last time.


	24. Chapter 24

## A Party Of Green Tea Crepes

Kouki yawned as he woke up to an empty bed. He blinked a few times, frowning at the unfamiliar room he was in before remembering that he was at the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo.

Last night had been the last time he would get to see his fiancé until their wedding day, which was already tomorrow.

In just one day from now, Kouki was going to marry his boyfriend, bond mate and fiancé, Akashi Seijuurou.

The omega felt nervous, excited, worried, exhausted, hyper and a bit sick, really.

Bottom line, he couldn't wait for tomorrow to arrive.

Mibuchi had informed the couple about the western tradition where engaged couples would sleep in separate rooms the night before their wedding day, and they were not to see each other until the ceremony.

So as their wedding planner, Mibuchi ordered them to separate for today and had banned them to even be on the same floor as one another.

The engaged couple and all their guests had arrived at the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo three days ago, in order for everyone to enjoy and relax themselves before the wedding.

Kouki and Seijuurou had both stayed at the hotel's [royal suite](http://www.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.com/accommodations/suites/royal-suite/), but tonight only the brunette would be staying here while Seijuurou would be put into another room. And then on their wedding night, the couple will be staying in the [imperial suite](http://www.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.com/accommodations/suites/imperial-suite/) for a night until they leave for their honeymoon in the next afternoon.

The brunette laid down, wondering if he should get up or stay in bed for a little longer, but his decision was made for him when he heard the front door suddenly slam open, giving him a near heart attack.

He stared at his doorway with wide eyes, clutching his blanket as he heard footsteps from the intruders move towards his room.

"Furi! Wakey-wakey! It's time to party!!!" Takao shouted, skipping into the room with the rest of his wedding party following behind him.

Kouki groaned when he saw that it wasn't serial killers and immediately hid himself underneath the blankets. "It's too early to party, Takao. And the wedding is tomorrow." He argued.

Takao chuckled as he sat on the bed, while the brunette's close friends, Kawahara and Fukuda, urged Kouki to pull down his blanket. "I'm talking about your bachelor party, silly!"

"Plus, consider this your congratulation party for getting into University of Tokyo, you freaking genius!" Kawahara grinned brightly as he threw himself at his best bud to give him a huge hug.

Kouki blushed as the room erupted in congratulations and whistles, the omega feeling very shy with all the sudden praise.

The day before (really, just yesterday) he and Seijuurou had made a short trip to the university as soon as they heard that the exam results were out and were excited to see if they had gotten accepted or not.

Kouki couldn't remember much except bursting into tears when he saw Seijuurou's number posted on the board containing all the passers.

And then the omega pretty much fainted when he later found his own number posted up as well.

Even now, he still couldn't believe that he had actually gotten accepted into one of the most prestigious universities in Japan and was now able to attend college together with his bond mate and fiancé.

Kuroko sat on the other side of Kouki as he explained, "Mibuchi-senpai instructed us to keep you busy so you wouldn't be tempted to see Akashi-kun today. Akashi-kun and his own wedding party left just now for his 'bachelor's party' as well."

"Yup!" Hayama chimed in, jumping up and down on the bed excitedly. "Captain took Reo-nee, Nebuya, Midorima, Murasakibara, Kise, Aomine and Momoi with him. But me and Kuroko chose to stay here cause we couldn't let our Omega Protection brother party without us!" He grinned as he placed his arm around Takao.

Takao laughed as he gave a thumbs up. "Hell yeah! But in order for us to have Hayama and Kuroko with us today, we traded them with Kagami- so he's also with the other party. And it helps that both parties are almost even in number now since our party was missing some people since the last two 'mysterious' groomsmen aren't here yet." He explained.

Kouki had informed all the groomsmen/women that he had two final guys in his wedding party, but they we're currently in America and their flight would be arriving the night before the wedding (it was initially on the day of the wedding, but they luckily managed to get an earlier flight).

The pair's flight was so close to the wedding date since a certain male omega had his college interview just two days before the wedding itself. It would be close timing, but the older of the two assured him that they would make it there on time.

"But our bachelor's party will be better than anything Akashi's party is doing!" Kawahara said confidently.

Takao winked. "You bet your basketballs that ours will be superior!"

"I've been wondering this, but aren't you supposed to be a part of Akashi's bachelor party since you're his best man and all?" Fukuda pointed out to Kuroko.

"Akashi-kun and I agreed that it would be best if I were to be placed in this wedding party for today. He was skeptical in leaving his fiancé in certain people's hands for a whole day and he made me promise to keep Furihata-kun safe." The blunette shrugged. "And I already prepared Akashi-kun's party with Mibuchi-senpai's help so I have done my best man duties."

"Hey!" Some of those 'certain people' complained, feeling insulted since they knew they were talking about them.

"Coach and Tae-san will also be with us today and they will be meeting us downstairs for breakfast." Kuroko informed Kouki.

Kouki was blinking at them all, feeling a bit overwhelmed as he absorbed all the information. "But where are we going so early in the morning? It's not even 7 yet." He pointed out.

The guys exchanged a secret grin with each other before Fukuda assured him, "Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough."

The omega looked completely worried as he frowned at them all. "We're not going to a strip club or anything, right?"

Takao gasped, looking almost offended at that. "Of course not! We're not that kind of men- what do you take us for?" But the grin on his face as he said this didn't make Kouki feel comforted at all.

"Don't worry, Furihata-kun. Mibuchi-senpai has already ordered us that we couldn't take you to anywhere dangerous, risqué or illegal. Otherwise, both he and Akashi-kun have threatened to end us." Kuroko informed him, patting his shoulder. Kouki giggled at the threatening looks the group must have gotten from the other two.

"And I will also assure you that since I am Akashi-kun's best man, even though I'm not there, I can assure you that your fiancé's bachelor's party is completely PG." the blunette assured him.

"And besides, even we're not that dumb to do anything too crazy the day before your wedding." Takao shrugged. With that, the beta began to pull Kouki out of bed.

"Speaking of best man...are you finally gonna tell us who you chose to be your man of honor yet?" Both Kawahara and Fukuda smiled up brightly at him.

Kouki snorted as he shook his head. "Nice try, guys. Tomorrow, for sure." The omega was adamant that he would announce his man/maid of honor when ALL of his wedding party was in attendance.

The two pouted but Hayama took Kouki by the shoulder and he and Takao ushered him towards the bathroom. "Now take a bath and dress in the clothes that we readied for you in there! We'll wait for you here so we can get breakfast altogether."

Kouki sighed but allowed his friends to pull him along and practically shove him into the baths.

Freshly showered and dressed, the omega exited the bathroom. "Are we going to the woods or something?" He asked, looking at his sports outfit and comfortable walking shoes with curiosity.

Takao grinned as he zipped his mouth. "It's a surprise! Anyway, let's go and meet up with the girls so we can eat already- I heard that they're serving something called an Italian eggs benedict scented with fragrant black truffles in a white wine zabajone sauce and a side of tapioca and cold azuki natural yogurt. I have no idea what any of that is, but it sounds fancy and I'm eating it!"

The guys met up with the girls and together they all had a nice breakfast at one of the hotel's dining areas.

During breakfast, Kouki told them some of the details about the wedding planning and exactly how much work there was put into it.

He also made a promise that after the wedding tomorrow, he never wants to deal with another wedding (at least not his own) ever again.

"Finding a venue was horrible- I was seriously about to give up on finding one if we hadn't found this hotel. And the clothes shopping! Ughhh....I never want to do that again and especially with the same people- no offense, Coach." Kouki apologized to Riko who was eating across from him.

The omega narrowed his eyes at some of his friends, "I remember calling some of you at the time to come help me out- aren't you supposed to be the Omega Protection Squad? Where was your protection then?" He accused them.

"Sorry, I've been shopping with Reo-nee before and there was NO WAY I'd ever subject myself to that horror again." Hayama shivered.

"I as well with Momoi-san and Kise-kun. I apologize Furihata-san." Kuroko bowed his head slightly in remorse.

"I actually wanted to go but Shin-chan warned me that my horoscope for that day was bad and Oha Asa advised all Scorpios to avoid going out, especially to go clothes shopping, or something annoying will happen to them and worn them out." Takao told him.

Kouki groaned loudly at that. "You should have told me then, Takao! I'm also a Scorpio too, remember?"

After their meals, some of the guys gathered the backpacks that they were bringing along and they all made their way to their destination.

They traveled to the Shinjuku station by rickshaw (Takao was ecstatic that for once, he wasn't the person pushing the cart) and from there, took about an hour's trip by train on the Keio line.

"Where did Sei and the others go, anyway?" Kouki questioned, looking out the train to see where they themselves were headed. The others had made sure to keep him from knowing the station that they were headed to since they insisted that knowing it would ruin the surprise.

"I heard something about a ninja being mentioned." Riko noted, sitting between Tae and Hayama.

"Indeed. Mibuchi-senpai and I decided that everyone in Akashi-kun's wedding party would enjoy visiting the Ninja village today." Kuroko explained to them.

Hayama was looking something up on his phone but making a noise as he showed everyone his screen. "Reo-nee said that they were visiting [Edo Wonderland](http://edowonderland.net/en/). It's a place where you get to experience life during the Edo period. They even get to dress up too- like a lord, princess, policeman, samurai, ninja and others."

"I wonder what each of them chose to dress up in?" Tae wondered.

"I bet Sei is dressed up like a lord." Kouki smiled, wondering if his mate would be taking pictures so he could see the get-up himself.

"The wigs looked hilarious- I wonder if they had to wear them?" Fukuda pointed to the old hairstyles.

"I can't imagine what Shin-chan would be dressed in." Takao snickered, knowing that his boyfriend would be frowning the entire time.

"Although if anyone was going to be a ninja, then Kuroko here would definitely pull it off." Riko grinned.

Kuroko nodded. "I wouldn't mind being a ninja, or a samurai for that matter."

Kawahara whistled, looking at the costumes, impressed. "This all sounds awesome, actually."

Takao nodded. "Yes, but our party will still be much better." He assured all of them.

Getting to their destination, Kouki got off the train and looked around. "Takaosanguchi Station?" He read the sign out loud.

Takao grinned as he held up his hands, showing off the place. "So today, we'll be starting off with a nice hike up [Mount Takao](https://www.keio.co.jp/english/sightseeing/pdf/mt_takao_guide_je.pdf)! Yaaaayyy!" He clapped his hands excitedly.

Kouki raised his eyesbrow. "Mount 'Takao', huh?" He repeated, amused.

Takao winked as he looked very proud of himself. "Us guys were thinking about places that you would be able to have fun but also be relaxed before your wedding. So where else than taking a nice hike up a famous mountain with a ton of sightseeing attractions and views? Also with the super awesome name of 'Takao' in it, how could you not love it?" He grinned cheekily.

The brunette laughed as he nodded his head. "This sounds really fun, actually. I've always wanted to go to this mountain." He confessed.

"Right?" Hayama beamed excitedly since he loved doing outdoor stuff like this. "And it's also something girl-friendly for the ladies to enjoy as well since the mountain isn't too high- not like Mount Fuji, at least." He gestured to the only two girls in their group.

Both Riko and Tae were happy as well, taking plenty of pictures around them.

Kawahara and Fukuda hooked their arms with the male omega, both grinning at his sides. "So, shall we go?"

Kouki nodded happily. "Lets!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Oh, so they're at Mount Takao?" Seijuurou asked, looking over Momoi's phone where a stream of pictures where being posted by the opposite wedding party.

Momoi nodded, smiling as she showed the redhead the group picture the other party took in front of the mountain's entrance gates. "They look like they're having fun!"

Seijuurou smiled as he saw how happy his mate looked as he gave a peace sign in the photo. "I'm glad to see Kouki enjoying himself. I think Mount Takao was a wonderful idea for him." A fresh breath of mountain air was definitely what his mate needed right now, especially since the redhead could not be there with him today and tonight.

The redhead's own wedding party started the day off at an early time since Mibuchi insisted that Seijuurou leave before Kouki woken up.

Aomine in particular grumbled about the time, but soon quieted down when they had arrived at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Everyone's moods lifted as soon as they saw all the delicious seafood and managed to stuff themselves with decadent sashimi and shellfish sets for breakfast.

After the fish market, they went to the Edo Wonderland where everyone dressed up as the character of their choice- Aomine and Kise were ninjas, Mibuchi wanted to be a princess but since none of the women's kimonos could fit him, he had to settle as a samurai instead with Kagami. Murasakibara on the other hand, was also very large so all he could fit in was the average townsperson's clothing.

Midorima didn't want to dress up, but eventually the others forced him to dress as a policeman, which was what Nebuya was dressed up as well.

Momoi placed her phone back into her kimono just as their rickshaw stopped in front of the Jigoku Temple (otherwise known as the Temple of Hell). There was an abnormal amount of familiar-sounding screams coming from the temple.

Seijuurou raised his eyebrow as the noise. "I see- or more accurately, hear- that Daiki, Ryouta and Kagami are inside as well. Shall we go and rescue them?" He offered the sleeve of his own yukata to the pink-haired girl.

Momoi rolled her eyes, taking his arm. "Stupid Dai-chan. He already knows that he can't handle ghosts and he still goes in there anyway." She sighed. "Well, I guess we should go and help them."

The pair, a feudal lord and a princess, shook their heads fondly as they entered the temple, loud shrieks and yelling included.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Munching on a manju bean cake that the group had gotten, Takao pointed at something up ahead. "So which trail do you guys want to take?" He pointed to the map showing each of the different routes that they could take.

"Since this is Furi's day, he should choose what route he wants to take." Riko told him.

Kouki looked at the map carefully, choosing what would be the best route for all of them. "I think we should take.....the first route, The Omotesando Trail, seems to be the most popular and has most of the attractions so I would like to go up that trail. The Biwa Waterfall Trail seems to be the hardest and I don't think it would be a good idea to get so tired just before the wedding so let's skip it. So for going down...I think the fourth route, The Suspension Bridge Trail would be fun."

Takao grinned as he agreed with that game plan. "Let's do it!"

The group made their way to the first place of the trail, which they were given a choice to take either the cable car or the chair lift up to the Takaosan Station.

"Ahhhh.....as I thought. Taking the chair lift was the right choice." Kawahara sighed as kicked his legs in his seat and looked at the beautiful greenery around them.

Fukuda took in a deep breath, taking in the fresh air. "The breeze feels great!"

Kouki and Kuroko sat together on their chair lift and pointed out some of the flowers that they passed by, conversing with the girls who were traveling a few feet behind them about what kind of flowers they could spot blooming in the area.

"Everyone! Say Takao!" Hayama called out, aiming his selfie stick with his phone attached to the end so it could get a good shot of the four pairs.

"TAKAO!" They said yelled out cheerfully. The photo ended up especially good with their own Takao's mouth wide open in hysterical laughter at everyone calling out his name.

Getting off the chair lift, the group made their way towards the shops and bought themselves some tengu-yaki (black bean-filled pancake, like a taiyaki shaped as a tengu), mitarashi dango (grilled sweet dumplings), crisp cucumbers topped with miso paste and honeyberry (blue berry honeysuckles) ice cream.

Snacking on their treats, the first place they came by was the Monkey Park.

"Ohhhh....they're so cute!" Tae gushed, pointing to some monkey babies that were playing on top of a wheel.

"Hey! That one looks just like your brother, Tae-chan!" Takao laughed as he pointed to a monkey in particular with distinguished eyebrows. Tae giggled at the resemblance.

"Oh, that looks like something I should let you guys do for training." Riko grinned as she pointed to a couple of monkeys that were pulling themselves along a high rope.

All the Seirin members sweatdropped at that. "Please don't, Coach." Kuroko immediately told her.

"Here, Coach! I got you and Tae a monkey plush keychain." Kouki added, giving the cute little stuffed monkey to the girl as a distraction.

Riko immediately squealed, forgetting what she had said before as she thanked them. She had always had a soft spot for cute things.

After they had gotten to throw some food for the monkeys, they walked up the trail further, stopping to admire and take pictures together with the Tako-sugi (octopus root cedar- a tree with roots that looked like octopus tentacles).

"I pray that I get married like Furi too one day. But please give me someone very hot for my wife, please." Kawahara prayed, rubbing the top of the octopus god statue. Kouki and Fukuda only giggled behind him.

Taking more pictures at the Joshin Gate and the Buddhist Stupa, the group got to make another choice between taking the Otoko-zaka or the Onna-zaka routes.

"God! I thought we were taking it easy today!" Fukuda complained as the group (minus Tae) ran up the long steep stairs of the Otoko-zaka. Tae on the other hand, opted to take the easier slope route called the Onna-zaka.

Riko laughed, feeling only exhilaration as she ran up the stairs easily, being the first in front. "Think of it as a race, Kawahara! Besides, it's good to get a little exercise to stretch out the muscles and pump the blood up!" She called behind her.

"Ughhhh...how does she run so fast?" Takao huffed, with Kouki right in front of him, panting too hard to reply back.

"Whoa! This is awesome! Wait up, Coach Lady, I'm catching up to ya!" Hayama was completely cheerful as well and having the time of his life as he ran up the stairs, close behind Riko.

Tae was waiting for all of them at the top, and the whole group had to wait an extra ten minutes for Kuroko to arrive, who had lagged horribly behind and needed to catch his breath when he finally did reach them.

After their short break, they went back to their leisure pace and took more pictures with another tree, Tengu no koshikake sugi and the Shiteno Gate where there was a tengu statue, the long nosed goblin.

They also laid on the ground as they took an upshot photo of the Shidare-zakura (weeping cherry trees).

"Ooooh....and here's the Yakuoin Temple!" Takao waved his arm towards the large temple and one of the main attractions of the mountain.

To the right of the main gate, Shitenno-mon, was a statue of Shungen Daitoku. The group made a bow before it and then made their way through the gate into the temple precinct.

They then washed their hands and rinsed their mouths at the stone basin built beneath a simple roof supported by wooden pillars.

Bowing again, they ascended the flight of steps leading up to the Main Hall. The Nio-mon Gate stood at the top of the stairs, providing access to the Main Hall.

In front of the hall, they bowed again and threw their offerings into the offering box, before they made their prayers to Izuna Daigongen with their hands clasped palms together.

"May the wedding turned out alright tomorrow." was Kouki's prayers as he closed his eyes and clasped his hands.

"May I get a hot girlfriend by the end of this year." Kawahara prayed also, beside him.

Kouki opened his eyes and gave the other an amused look. "How many times are you gonna pray for the same thing?"

Kawahara didn't look at him, too busy praying, but he did reply back with, "I'll stop asking when my prayers are finally answered."

After making their prayers, still with their hands together in the prayer position, they recited the mantra “Namu Izuna Daigongen,” envisioning the form of the deity in their minds.

When they were finished they all walked around the temple, hearing the story being told by an elderly man about the origin of the Tengu gods.

"Look, O-mikuji (fortunes)!" Tae pointed at the box displaying pink kanji written on it.

Each of them took one fortune (they decided to do the love fortunes) and looked to see what they got.

Kouki, Kuroko and Riko got 'Great blessing' (dai-kichi, 大吉).

Hayama and Tae got 'Middle blessing' (chū-kichi, 中吉).

Takao got 'Small blessing' (shō-kichi, 小吉) while Fukuda got 'Half-blessing' (han-kichi, 半吉).

As for Kawahara..... "YOSH! 'Future small blessing' (sue-shō-kichi, 末小吉)! I'll take it!" The alpha grinned as he tied to fortune to a string/wire where the other fortunes were.

With everyone happy that they had all gotten blessed and there were no curses handed to them, they continued on their way towards the summit.

As they hiked up the path, Takao began to sing a song in order to liven things up a bit- with no more attractions around until they reached the top, it had gotten too quiet for the beta to handle since everyone was too focused on getting to their final destination.

" _Bring back the catalyst 'a simple way to best'. And rhythm like this never ends. Sometimes your voice reached to me. Because I don't want to face the fate._ " He rapped to one of his favorite songs, [Catal Rhythm](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nnpKdbocrZg) by OLDCODEX.

" _YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD FLY?!!!!_ " He shouted, making the rest of the group (plus the strangers around them) to jump and look at him with wide eyes.

"Shut up!" Riko snapped, throwing a stray stick at him. She had recognized the song he had sang during Seirin and Shuutoku's training camp a few years back. Back then, she was amused by the hawk-eyed player's singing, but now she just found it annoying.

"Takao, how about something less hard rock please?" Kouki suggested to him, not minding the other singing as long as it wasn't too loud and harsh.

Takao looked thoughtful for a moment before opening his mouth again, " _I suddenly realized, it's too late to look back on, what I've lost once I've lost it. I should have kept conveying that, what a frustrating story line...._ "

"Hm, this song's good." Kuroko commented listening to the other sing. "What is the title?"

"I think it's also from OLDCODEX but it's called, [Lantana](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mExwpTO03p4)." Kouki replied, relieved by the other's softer song choice.

" _I'm always by your side, but I know what is going on~_ " Both Hayama and Kawahara how joined in with Takao to sing.

For the rest of the hike, the group sang together as they all found it something fun to do and that singing helped them to stay cheerful and kept them from feeling too tired. It also made the time pass by much more quicker.

When they neared the top of the mountain, the whole group were singing along to a song called [Ambivalence](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pBvi2SLrA0I) by SCREEN mode.

" _Send it to you. Let loose the wish; until it reaches a sky that leads to a promise. No matter how many hundreds, how many thousands of times, yes - stand up tall! We believe that we can manage to bloom~_ " Everyone laughed as Takao and Hayama 'battled' one another as to who could hold out on the final note longer.

Riko clapped her hands when they finally made it to the top. "Okay boys- and Tae-chan- quieten down now. We're here!"

At a height of 599m, standing at the top of Mount Takao felt amazing and truly felt like one had accomplished something.

Although the trail they had gone on wasn't too difficult, it still made them all a little sweaty and the cool breeze from the top was a welcoming addition to the spectacular views one could see from the summit observatory.

Thankfully the weather was nice that day so they got a clear view of Mount Fuji from ahead, and got to see its very top. And from below, they could also see Tokyo and Yokoyama as well.

Kouki took in a deep breath, loving the refreshed feeling he got as he felt like he was standing at the top of the world. "This feeling's amazing. It kinda feels similar to when Seirin won the winter cup, right now." Kouki smiled.

"Yeah, I sorta feel the same way like when Rakuzan won the tournaments too." Hayama agreed.

"Oh, then I guess I don't know that feeling since Shuutoku hadn't won, even once." Takao sighed sadly, though inside he wasn't really seriously sad.

"Ah! Sorry, Takao!" Both Kouki and Hayama gave their friend a reassuring hug. "But your team were always in the top three and made runner up constantly, you know." Kouki pointed out.

Takao laughed as he hugged the both of them back, grinning widely. "Yeah, it's all good. Besides, standing here on this mountain, while having a great view of Mount Fuji which is the king of all mountains kinda makes me feel like we're only just the runner up, huh?" To that, everyone laughed at the comparison.

"Nah, Takao totally beats Fuji any day." Hayama winked. Takao laughed louder at that, completely delighted and full of pride for his namesake.

After taking a lot more pictures and rehydrating with the snacks they had bought earlier and cold beverages they got at the shop on the summit, the group finally decided that they were ready to head back down.

They chose a different trail (#4) to descend the mountain. It was pretty similar and just as beautiful as to the trail they used when going up, but this time they needed to cross a bridge.

The Miyama-bashi bridge was long at 36 meters and there were also beautiful views of the broad-leaved deciduous trees including Fagus japonica, unique to Mount Takao, that they hadn't seen during Trail 1.

"You guys are the worst!" Fukuda screamed as Kawahara, Hayama and Takao jumped up and down the bridge when they learned that the beta was actually terrified of heights. The rest of their group just shook their hands as the devilish trio giggled while they jumped, making the beta curse at them even more.

The fourth trail was much more like what true hiking should be, surrounded by nothing but nature. But even without all the attractions, Kouki still enjoyed this trail because it was much less crowded than the first trail and more relaxing (even with Takao and Hayama once again singing as they hiked, this time to GRANRODEO songs).

They eventually made it back to the same point that was connected to Trail 1 and soon, they were going down using the cable car this time.

"Wow, this ride is pretty steep." Tae pointed out, their cable car was at an angle that made riding down the mountain more exhilarating and a little scary, to be honest.

When they were once again at the bottom of the mountain, everyone stretched out their bodies once more. They had plenty of fun climbing Mount Takao but couldn't deny that they were very glad that it was done now.

To rest their tired bodies, Hayama was the one to announce this time that they would take some time to relax at the [Keio Takaosan Onsen Gokurakuyu](http://www.takaosan-onsen.jp/english/bath.html)\- a hot spring bath house that offered a variety of gender segregated baths.

As the girls went off to bathe in the separate baths they've chosen (the sauna and then a cold bath), the rest of the men gathered together and decided to soak in the Natural hot springs outdoor rock baths where they could enjoy the soft touch of the natural spring water called 'water for beautiful skin' which bubbles up from 1,000 meters underground. They chose the warm bath since Kuroko couldn't handle the hot one.

"Haaaaaahhh....This is exactly what I'm talking about." Takao sighed as the spring water hit his tired muscles.

"Man, this hits the spot." Kawahara agreed, resting his back against the smooth rock.

"I had so much fun, today. Thank you guys for bringing me here." Kouki said shyly, looking down as playing with some of the water in his hands.

Hayama chuckled as he pointed out, "Don't go thanking us yet, Furi. There's still plenty more to come- the day isn't over yet you know." Kouki smiled, looking forward for more to come.

"Umm...I think Kuroko's passed out guys," Fukuda voiced out, sounding worried to borderline panicked as the blunette had sunk underneath the water earlier and had yet to resurface.

After their relaxing baths and resuscitating Kuroko back to life, they changed into the street clothes that they had brought inside their bags and met up with the girls so they could have a late lunch.

They ate at Takahasiya, where they ordered the famous Tororo Soba (soba noodles with grated yam). They also ordered some sweet egg omelet rolls and tempura to eat on the side.

With full bellies, the group finally said good bye to Mount Takao one more time before they moved onto their next destination.

"So the next place on our list is....[Tokyo Sky Tree](http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/)!" Takao announced when they finally arrived at the tall tower.

Getting out of the car, Kouki looked up at the world's highest free-standing broadcasting tower before turning towards his friends with a raised eyebrow. "You guys really love high places, don't you?" He said with amusement.

Everyone, minus Fukuda of course, grinned as they gave him a thumbs up.

"Getting into University of Tokyo, and marrying one of the richest men in the world....you're already gonna be reaching for higher places, Furi. So why not start now?" And with a wink, Takao grabbed the omega by the arm as they all entered the building.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"They're at the Tokyo Sky Tree, now." Mibuchi noted as he looked down at the photo that was sent to him, walking down the cobblestone road with Seijuurou and Murasakibara.

After a delicious lunch of soba, rice bowls and plenty of meat, the group split up once more to look around the place.

They had all soon realized as soon as they had arrived at the wonderland that they couldn't all travel together around the park without an argument breaking out every five minutes.

So in order for them to enjoy themselves, they decided that it'd be best to go their own ways and to just hang out with whoever they wanted. They promised to meet back for only lunch and until 4:00 pm where it would be closing time and they can head back to the Chinzanso hotel for dinner and get some early rest for tomorrow.

Seijuurou was perfectly fine with this idea since now he would be able to enjoy himself and not need to handle playing babysitter to Aomine, Kagami, Kise and sometimes Midorima. Everyone else were pleasant enough.

"I wonder if I could get them to buy me a Tokyo banana from there." Murasakibara wondered, eating his dango. The purple giant was actually pretty easygoing to hang around, just as long as he had his bag of snacks with him.

"Let's not disturb their fun, Atsushi." Seijuurou told him gently. "I will buy you some onigiri after the show, is that alright?"

Murasakibara's eyes lit up at the compromise and soon, the trio entered The Grand Ninja Theatre to watch a few ninjas slaughtering one another.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Why did we need to come here again?" Fukuda whined, nearly trembling as he was forced on top of the glass floor to get his picture taken.

"Because it's fun." Hayama told him simply, making a peace sign at the camera.

"And why are you so scared here when you were perfectly fine on the summit?" Riko raised her eyebrows at him.

"Because I wasn't looking down at the ground then and imagining falling to my death!" Fukuda yelped when someone jolted him from behind jokingly. "I made sure to keep my eyes firming on the sky!"

The group mostly took pictures of themselves at the Tokyo Sky Tree. When they got to the top, the view was very nice, but after coming from Mount Takao which was higher than the Sky Tree and had breathless views of nature, Kouki wasn't really wowed right now.

As they exited the Sky Tree souvenir shop, Takao noticed something outside and suddenly his eyes lit up as he was hit by an idea to make this visit more interesting. "Guys, wait here- I'll be right back!" Everyone had confused frowns on their faces as they watched the beta sprint off to another direction.

Fifteen minutes later...

"Takao." Kouki said, his voice completely even as he looked at his grinning friend at his right. "I'm 100% sure that Sei, Reo-nee AND Midorima-kun are going to kill you for this."

Takao didn't look deterred at all by that as he continued to look very proud of himself. "I don't mind. At least what a way to go, right?"

Kouki and Takao were currently dressed up in a dark blue body suit, with rubber boats, gloves, goggles and a helmet. Right now, they were cleaning the large glass windows of the Tokyo Sky Tree.

As strange as it sounds, cleaning a few windows weren't the reason why they would be killed if the others found out.

No, they would most likely get murdered because they were cleaning windows....on the OUTSIDE of the Sky Tree tower, 450 meters above ground on a gondola and even though their cleaning tools were attached to lanyards to prevent them from dropping down, they themselves were not attached to any harnesses to prevent themselves from falling off and dropping.

Kouki questioned Takao again about exactly how the beta had gotten permission for them to do this.

"I just told the big boss how I wanted to give you an experience of a lifetime at the Sky Tree because today was your bachelor's party." Takao explained innocently, waving at their friends who were below them on the other side of the glass, taking pictures of them together with a few other visitors.

The omega didn't buy it one bit. "That's all you said?"

Takao shrugged, "Okay, I may have mentioned that your fiancé was the heir of the Akashi empire and after they had made their calls to confirm it, they gladly gave us permission to be out here- BUT at least they made sure we were dressed up properly and we even have an experienced worker here to watch over us." He gestured with his cleaning tool at the older man who was also with them on the gondola.

The old man bowed his head, "I assure you that I am a highly skilled worker and have worked at this job for many years. We have taken all the safety measures and the gondola itself has vibration control with fall prevention functions. There is nothing to worry about, Furihata-sama." He promised.

Kouki opened his mouth to reply, but he clamped shut when a strong wind came at that moment and made the gondola shake a little (vibration control, his butt).

"Whoa!" Even Takao was caught off guard at he clutched onto the sides of the shaking gondola.

Kouki gritted his teeth as he held on for dear life, before turning to the old man with a tight look on his face. "For some reason, I don't think I can stop from worrying even with your assurance." The old man chuckled, already used to handling first-timers.

"But, Furi! I just wanted to make this an experience you'll never forget. This is your bachelor party and it just doesn't sit well with me if there was even one part of today that wasn't good enough. At least now you can say that you've worked in the highest place in Tokyo! You can't get more crazier than that!" Takao pointed out.

"Oh, I'm well aware about how crazy this all is." Kouki assured him.

"But is this something that you would consider to be glad that you could do, even just once?" The beta urged.

Kouki paused, "Yeah, as crazy as this all is, I'm really happy that you did this for me. I do wish that maybe I wasn't doing this the day just before my wedding, but in the end, at least I can honestly say that this has made my visit to the Tokyo Sky Tree very memorable." He confessed to the other.

The smile on Takao's face was the brightest and most sincere the omega had ever seen on him yet. "Then that's all that matters."

Kouki sighed as he shook his head. "You are really an insane and wonderful friend, you know that?"

Takao grinned. "Aww, thanks Furi. Oh! And head's up." Kouki looked to where the beta was pointing at and saw that his friends had move up to the floor above them and Hayama had his phone out to take a nice photo of them (and with that angle, it showed exactly how high up the two were and that they obviously had no harness attached to them neither).

"Say cheese, Furi! And you too, oji-san!" Takao called out, making a peace sign as the old man also put up a peace sign of his own.

Kouki gave one more sigh before also smiling along as well.

The three men managed to clean a few more windows (that was one of the deals Takao made- they would be allowed to go out on the gondola as long as they did clean a few windows) before the winds began to worsen and the three had to be pulled back up due to safety reasons.

"You guys looked great!" Tae gushed when the duo had made their way back to where the rest of the group were.

Hayama showed them the pictures he took. Kouki and Takao (plus the old man) were smiling at the camera, with a very perfect view of the rest of Tokyo bellow them.

"Make sure no one sees this, okay?" Kouki warned him. He just knew Seijuurou and Mibuchi would freak if they saw their dangerous stunt.

Hayama nodded, "No problem. Oh, and I'll send you guys a copy of the photos later." He assured them.

"How was it being on the outside?" Kuroko asked, curious.

"It was really scary, but I believed in Takao and the kind oji-san that everything would be okay." Kouki confessed to them, making Takao grin widely.

"No wonder people call that window cleaning activity, '[Tokyo Aozora Soji](http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/enjoy/aozora/)' because it really was like you guys were 'cleaning the blue sky'." Riko informed them.

"Yeah, I couldn't really tell that there was a glass so it really looked like you were cleaning nothing." Fukuda chuckled. "But yeah....I myself would never do what you guys did in a million years."

Kouki chuckled also as the group made their way to the exit. "I might do that again one day- it was exhilarating." He admitted.

"And hey. At least we did some risk-taking on this trip. Since Mibuchi forbade us from sky diving and bungee jumping, this was the next best thing." Takao winked.

Everyone decided that they would walk to their last destination since it was nearby- also, it would be more fun that way.

As they walked down the street, Tae pointed to a crepe shop nearby and asked if they could stop and have a snack there, to which the others agreed.

"Look! There's a green tea special menu!" Kouki pointed to the sign near the shop.

"It's this month's-only special." One of the employees informed them.

"Okay, I'll go with the Green Tea Tiramisu & Green Tea Whip Crepe." Kawahara announced.

"I'll have the Strawberry Green Tea Brownie Crepe then!" Hayama raised his hand.

"Isn't having tiramisu and brownies in a crepe a bit too much?" Kuroko commented, getting the standard Banana choco cream crepe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

"Yeah, I'm going with the Blueberry cream cheese crepe." Fukuda agreed.

"I think it's fine as long as you guys finish it all." Riko said, she and Tae both ordering the same crepe- Strawberry chocolate and cream crepe.

"I'm going the savory route, guys." Takao grinned, going his own way and ordering the Chicken, cheese and basil sauce crepe.

Kouki took a few minutes to make his decision before finally pointing to one of the crepes. "I'll get the Green tea cheesecake creme brûlée crepe." He ordered. It was overboard, but since it was his bachelor's party, the omega figured it was okay to go a bit over-the-top today.

They had to wait a few minutes before they finally got all their orders. Getting the standard flavors, Kuroko, Fukuda and both the girls enjoyed their crepes.

Hayama and Kawahara loved their crepes, not caring that with all the ingredients inside, their crepes weren't even really considered a crepe anymore.

Takao devoured his savory crepe, loving the basil sauce so much that he asked the employee for extra.

Taking a bite of his own crepe, Kouki hummed as he looked at what was exactly inside of it.

On top was the creme brûlée with a bit of green tea syrup over it. Underneath that was the cheesecake and under that was a whole load of whipped cream. And then finally at the bottom was the ice cream.

"There's a lot of whipped cream, but I like it." Kouki said, also noting that because the ice cream was on the bottom, it was pretty much half melted by the time he got to it.

Even though it was Japanese bad manners to walk around while eating, the next destination was a ways off and Takao informed them that they had a reservation that they needed to make.

By the time everyone was done with their crepes (Kuroko only finished half of his and gave the rest to Takao who was grateful since he had started to want something sweet after his chicken crepe) they finally hit the street where their final destination of the day was.

Kouki's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets when he realized exactly where they were.

"What the hell?" He looked at his friends with an incredulous expression.

"There's no way Reo-nee would approve of this!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Where are those idiots?" Midorima sighed, clearly irritated as he pushed up his glasses on his nose and clutched the Nyan-mage products he had gotten at the souvenir store.

Everyone in their group (minus two people) were gathered together and we're back to wearing their regular clothes again. Edo Wonderland was closing soon so they were readying to leave. But unfortunately two of their members, Kagami and Aomine, were nowhere to be seen.

"Are they still not answering their phones?" Seijuurou questioned, looking towards Mibuchi and Momoi who were trying to call both the missing boys.

Mibuchi sighed as he shook his head, pressing his end button again. "Tai-chan isn't picking up."

"Neither is that baka Dai-chan." Momoi scowled, ending her call also.

"Maybe we should go and look for them?" Nebuya suggested, taking a huge bite of the meat skewer he had ordered. Midorima sighed loudly, finding it a nuisance to find the two imbeciles while Murasakibara was drooling at Nebuya's skewer at the side.

Seijuurou looked thoughtful. "Does anyone know any place here that may have any competitions that were offered?" The redhead had a feeling he might know where the missing two would be.

The group thought about it before Murasakibara lazily mentioned, "Ahhh...I think there was a ninja place here where you could do ninja stuff."

Momoi nodded. "That's a good idea, Mukkun! I'm sure that the two are there!"

Making their way to the ninja grounds, they were finally able to spot their two friends having a heated fight as they battled with wooden sticks.

"Oi, you idiots! It's closing time already!" Midorima shouted, giving them a hard scowl.

"Dai-chan! You having even dressed yet! And neither have you too, Kagamin!" Momoi scolded them.

Seijuurou only looked amused. "Aren't those swords only for the use of children?" He questioned.

One of the staff informed them that this attraction was only for young kids, but the two had ended up getting into a fight and had ended up breaking sixteen swords in total. Seijuurou, of course, assured them that he would pay for all his friend's damages and for any replacement of equipment.

"Okay, you two. You have both had your fun so please change out of your outfits and let us enjoy some dinner back at the hotel." Seijuurou ordered them, using his 'captain' voice with some alpha command to it.

As soon as the words left the redhead's mouth, both Aomine and Kagami stopped fighting and shivered at the commanding tone in the alpha's words, before immediately hightailing it to the changing room.

Midorima gave another sigh. "We really should have just left them here, Akashi." He pointed out to the redhead.

Seijuurou chuckled as the rest of them headed back to their car. "It would have been very rude to the staff if we had left those two with them, Shintarou."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"There's nothing to worry about, Furihata-kun." Kuroko assured the brunette, who had refused to take a step further.

Kouki gave him a look, "Nothing to worry? You guys took me to Kabukicho!" He cried.

Kabukicho was an area in Shinjuku that was known as Tokyo's red-light district. Surrounding them were plenty of host/hostess bars, pachinko parlours and love hotels lining the streets. And it was the number one place that Kouki had warned them that morning that he DIDN'T want to go to.

"Okay, I know that this probably looks bad-" Kawahara started out before Kouki interrupted him.

"It does" The brunette agreed wholeheartedly.

"But we did promise you that we would not take you to a strip club and swore our lives to Reo-nee and Akashi that we wouldn't do anything sexual, dangerous-" Hayama continued but was also interrupted by Kouki.

"You guys failed at the dangerous part earlier." He corrected, giving Takao an accusing look.

"We swear, Furi- the place that we're taking you will be completely safe and legal. Remember that I'm here also and you know that I'll always watch out for my team." Riko reminded him.

Kouki felt a bit better after getting his Coach's reassurance, but he was still suspicious as to where the group were taking him.

Walking down the street, the omega couldn't help but blush at some signs or shop windows showcasing questionably lewd kanji and a few images of women in different states of nudity (that was the politest way he could put it).

But Kabukicho didn't end up being as raunchy as Kouki had initially feared- he had found the majority of the place okay and very lively in fact, every building lit up with bright lights. As long as they stayed on the open streets together with the crowd, then they were perfectly okay (of course, they made sure to avoid the dark alleyways or any suspiciously dark establishments they passed by).

At some points, various people- hosts, hostesses, strange dodgy solicitors- would come up the group and ask them to visit their shop. But most of them would leave when the group politely denied the request- and if anyone tried to continue to press further, they would have Riko's Boston crab hold to deal with.

Kouki actually liked how cool everything looked with its brightly colored and illuminated signs, the interesting samurai restaurant they passed by and he even spotted and got a pic of a real life-size Godzilla!

Finally, they made it to their destination and Takao waved his arm towards the place with a wide grin. "And here we are~ the pièce de résistance and final conclusion of your bachelor party.....The Robot Restaurant!" He announced.

"[Robot Restaurant](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rLFaNX4WkZ0)?" Kouki repeated questioningly, looking at their final destination. The entrance was brightly lit with gaudy colors and there were two woman humanoid robots in the front where you could sit on their laps (which of course, they all did and took a group picture too).

"Yup. But even though this is a 'restaurant' this place isn't really popular for its food." Hayama explained to him.

Kuroko nodded. "We are here for entertainment purposes only. We will be taking our dinner back at the hotel. And do not worry, Furihata-kun, there is no age restriction here and even children are also allowed inside as long as they are accompanied with a parent and only during certain hours." He reassured the omega.

Kouki nodded in understanding before turning to Takao with a raised eyebrow. "...Fine. It actually does looks fun. BUT there seriously better not be any strippers or stripper poles in there." He pointed to the restaurant as he said this.

Takao winked at him before he latched onto the omega and began to steer him inside the place. "I swear that there are no strippers here. But no promises on the stripper poles." With a laugh, they all entered the strange place.

Tiny corridors with brightly coloured murals and images and three dimensional sculptures hanged from the ceilings. It would make a person feel disconnected from reality and focus on the strange world of robots. And indeed, Kouki could spot a number of robots around- especially those 'fembots' and transformer-like robots.

They were greeted by a host and taken to a lift where they were carried up to a large bar and lounge area. Everything was glitzy and gold and psychedelic to say the least.

They took their seats where they were immediately offered various drinks and food. But they all agreed to just skip on them so they could focus solely on the show.

"What exactly is the show about?" Kouki asked, his voice raised a bit since the inside of the place was filled with lots of loud chatter and music.

"According to their website, the shows last for about two hours. They are divided into different acts." Tae replied, showing her phone to him. "The show a combination of robots and traditional Japanese elements."

Kouki nodded, twirling the glow stick that were handed out to everyone in the audience. He figured that this show was also popular with tourists as he spotted a great number of foreigners in the audience as well.

The show soon started and the omega found himself mesmerized by all the lights and sounds.

The opening act was a dance that nodded to traditional Japanese kabuki-style theatre with the girls dressed in traditional Japanese historical outfits (but shorter in length and more modern-looking, of course) banging on taiko drums.

After that, the second act was more on the raucous side with the dancers performing atop miniature remote-controlled stages that glided up and down the catwalk as others marched and played instruments.

"I thought you promised there were no strippers." Kouki called out to Takao, looking specifically at some girls in skimpy-anime style outfits...or more like lingerie... hanging upside down from poles.

Takao grinned and as he winked, "They won't take their clothes off, I swear. And I did say that I made no promise about the stripper poles." He smirked.

Between each act, the stage hands helped the performers dismount from the stages and readied the set for the next part of the show. Here, the audience could stretch out and be visited by some of the vendors to buy more food and drink.

The next act was a skit. In a skit set on a faraway planet, two performers dressed as cavewomen rode atop a dinosaur robot each as they battled other robots invading from outer space.

This was Kouki's favorite part as he enjoyed the part with the machine guns being shot off and he cheered along with everyone else when one of the cavewomen were being eaten by the large dinosaur robot at the end.

At one point during the show, several performers were dressed as robots as they rode neon-lit one-wheeled motorcycles around the set.

Amidst the pulsating electronic music and a matching laser light show, giant remote-controlled robots rolled down the stage, and the fembots made their appearances with the performers on the fembot's lap as they rode around.

From the flashy glittery lights, lasers, pyro-technics and wall-to-wall giant screens, Kouki found it all loud, full of character and fascinating. Not once was he bored during the show.

After a brief intermission, the show's final act unloaded not only a phalanx of robots, but a LED airplane and a neon-lit motorcycle as well.

"So, Furi! Are you having fun?" Kawahara yelled out, needing to raise his voice over the crowds chanting that was being encouraged by the performers.

Kouki looked around, seeing everyone's bright fun faces and even though their group wasn't touching any of the alcohol, they we're happily screaming along with the crowd to, "Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots! Everybody~!"

Kouki laughed as he looked back at his friend with a wide smile and gave him a thumbs up, "Yeah. I'm glad you guys took me here!" He finally admitted.

And if there was one more thing Kouki had to admit, out of all the activities they had done that day, the Robot Restaurant was the one where the omega truly felt as if he was actually having a bachelor party.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Haahh....today was wild, huh?" Hayama sighed, drying his wet hair as he came out from his the shower.

Kuroko, who was assigned as the blonde's roommate, nodded as he took a sip of water. "I am relieved that we all managed to give Furihata-kun a a very fun experience at his party."

Hayama grinned as he took a swig of his own water. "Tell me about it. I'm just glad that everything went without a hitch- especially the robot place at the end. I was seriously worried that Furi would have refused to go in at all."

"Furihata-kun can be quite adventurous when he wants to be." The blunette pointed out. "I was very proud of him when he hung from the outside of the Tokyo Sky Tree."

Hayama agreed. "Yup. And damn that Takao- I really wanted to be the one to join Furi on that gondola." The beta pouted, still resented over the fact of losing janken with the Shuutoku beta.

"Oh hey, did you see all the photos I took from today?" Hayama asked his roommate, going to the blunette's side of the room and sitting beside the other on his bed.

Kuroko looked over and had a small smile on his face as the blonde showed him their pictures that day.

Everyone smiling happily at the summit of Mount Takao and the lovely photo of Kouki and Takao hundreds of feet above ground, hanging outside the Sky Tree.

"Ooh, and look at this one. It's my favorite!" Hayama said excitedly, showing his fellow beta one of the last group photos they had taken that night.

After the show, Takao and Riko both gotten permission to take pictures together with all the robots that were in the show.

The result was of one crazy and chaotic photo of them all- showing Kouki and Kuroko in the middle of the picture, both on the laps of the famous fembots, which were both lit up and arms moving. Tae was posing next to the skimpy-outfitted performers with Riko at her other side, the coach happily beating the large Taiko drums. Kawahara and Fukuda were on top the glittering merry-go-round horses with a few of the showgirls in bikini-like cosplay. Hayama himself was on one of the lit-up one-wheeled motorcycles to the right.

And on the left of course was Takao, who was hanging upside from the mouth of the dinosaur, grinning like no tomorrow as he was clearly being devoured.

Kuroko chuckled as he looked at the photo. "Please send me a copy of this photo and the Sky Tree photo, Hayama-kun." He politely asked him.

Hayama nodded as he stood up to go back to his bed, sending the photos right away. "No problem....and send,"

As Kuroko turned on their tv to see what was showing, he looked back at his phone before turning to the blonde. "Hayama-kun? Are you sure you sent me the photo? I haven't received anything yet." The blunette questioned when he still received no message after five minutes had passed.

Hayama frowned, "Are you sure? My phone says that it's sent, though." He searched through his phone to see what was up.

The blunette turned back to the tv to change the channel. After a minute or two, a loud gasp from the blonde made Kuroko looked back at him with questioning eyes. "Is something wrong?" He asked, concerned.

Hayama's face was paled as he turned to look at the other with wide eyes. "I accidentally sent the photo to Reo-nee instead." He said, voice full of horror.

And as if to confirm his statement, there was suddenly a loud screech that could be heard clear-as-glass through the hotel walls.

The two roommates looked at one another with wide eyes before suddenly rushing up.

"Takao, it's Hayama. Code Reo. I repeat, it's a Code Reo! I accidentally sent the Sky Tree and robot photos to Reo-nee and I'm sure that he is gonna kill- ACK! Someone's banging on our door! Kuroko! Teach me misdirection so I can escape also. Kuroko? Where are you? Kuroko? KUROKO!"


	25. Chapter 25

## A Slice Of Green Tea Cake

AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri

Kouki took in a deep breath, looking down at his hands that were clasped in his lap.

After taking a few bites of his breakfast that Mibuchi had ordered to be brought to his room, the nerves finally became too much for him that he placed his silverware down and opted to just stare out into the beautiful garden view from his hotel room.

With so many thoughts whirling around in his head, it took Kouki a few seconds to realize someone was knocking his room.

Getting up, Kouki looked through the peek hole and sighed as he reluctantly opened the door and as he had expected, was immediately bombarded by two of his closest friends.

"Who's your man of honor, Furi?!" Both Kawahara and Fukuda shouted in unison.

Kouki rolled his eyes as he pushed the two off him. "That's how you two are gonna greet me with on my wedding day?" He snorted, shaking his head at them.

"Well, I think we've all been wondering here." Kagami pointed out, making Kouki look up and realize for the first time that his entire wedding party (minus two people) had all entered his room.

"Yeah, I mean we even promised Mibuchi that we wouldn't pester you about it during your bachelor party." Takao admitted, eating the rest of Kouki's french toast while Riko attacked his bowl of fruit.

"I think everyone's been wondering about it since Akashi-kun's best man had already been announced." Tae explained, sitting next to her boyfriend on Kouki's bed.

Like promised, Seijuurou and Kouki both informed Mibuchi about who they had chosen for their best man and man/maid of honor.

Seijuurou had gathered his wedding party to formally announce who he had chosen for his best man a few weeks ago.

Of course, it could be no other than Kuroko Tetsuya.

Even Kouki would have chosen the blunette, had the beta been in his own party. For Kuroko was basically where the roots of their relationship were formed from.

Yes, Coach Riko was the one who ordered Kouki to tag along with Kuroko to that fateful GOM meeting, but it was Kuroko who gave him the needed push to get to know Seijuurou better and later, listened and helped the omega when Kouki had started to feel more-than-friendly feelings for the alpha.

And no doubt, Kuroko was such a vital and irreplaceable influence on Seijuurou's life. Even when the redhead hurt and betrayed the blunette so horribly in the past, Kuroko was the only one to stand up against the heir and defeat him. And although the beta beat and proven the heir wrong, the blunette was not haughty about his win. All he wanted was for Seijuurou and he to be friends again.

In the end, because of Kuroko's actions, not only did Seijuurou realize his wrongdoings, but he managed to make the alpha a better man and even helped him get Kouki as his own.

Kuroko was such an important part of their relationship, that it only made sense that the couple would give him such an important role in their wedding as well.

Kouki sighed as he went to his bedside table to snatch his phone. "Fine, I'll announce who my man of honor is- sorry Coach and Tae, I chose a guy- but I need all of my wedding party to be here first when I announce it." He told them as he rung up the last two people that were currently missing from his wedding party.

If he recalled, those two had just arrived last night so hopefully they had gotten enough sleep and weren't suffering from any jet lag today.

"Do you guys know who they are?" Kagami whispered to Kawahara and Fukuda. The two boys are the closest to the brunette more than any of them.

The two shrugged, "We have no clue. All Furi would tell us is that he had known one of them since middle school and the second one was the first one's boyfriend." Fukuda told him.

The omega giggled at something the other caller said before saying, "Okay, okay. Calm down and just come to my room. I promise that it won't be for long- I just need to say something important. Okay? Okay! See you two soon!" Hanging up the phone, Kouki told everyone that the two were on their way.

As they went over one more time about how their roles for the ceremony would go, they all were interrupted by sound of the doorbell.

"Coming!" Kouki called out, putting the rest of his leftover breakfast (the girls had urged him to eat more for strength) down on the table and went to answer it. The omega's smile widened as he opened the door and saw who was behind it.

There, Nijimura Shuuzou smiled pleasantly at him, raising his hand in greeting. And behind the alpha was Kouki's rough, ill-mannered, but deep down really shy, best friend and the first male omega friend he had, Haizaki Shougo.

"What the fuck, Kouki? Why the hell did you call us here at seven in the fucking morning?" Haizaki growled as Nijimura gave Kouki a wide hug.

"Morning, Nijimura-nii. Shougo! You're finally here!" Kouki gave Nijimura a hug before all but throwing himself at his best friend.

"Ugh. You bastard. You're squashing my nuts right now." Haizaki complained, but made no move to hug the brunette back- though he also didn't push the other away neither.

"What the hell is he doing here?!" The trio at the door turned to look at the surprised expressions around the room and Kagami, the one who spoke up, was now standing and pointing at Haizaki with an outraged look on his face.

Haizaki smirked. "Ah, you're that obnoxious dickhead from before. Hey, is that blonde bitch still around? Or is she too busy spreading her legs somewhere?" He taunted.

The redhead clutched his fists as he gritted his teeth, "Bastard...."

"Okay, everyone settle down." Kouki interrupted, not wanting a fight to break out. "Kagami, Shougo and I have been friends since middle school. I invited him to the wedding myself." He explained.

Kagami looked at the omega, horrified. "What?! Are you serious?! You're actually friends with this guy?!" He shouted in disbelief, shoving his finger again in Haizaki's direction.

"You're too loud, Kagami!" Riko scolded, hitting the noisy alpha on the head with a pillow.

Kouki crossed his arms across his chest and gave Kagami a stern look. "Kagami. You are a dear friend to me and I understand where you're coming from...but Shougo and I have been friends for years so I know him way better than anyone else here, minus Nijimura-nii, possibly. He may be a bit rough around the edges, but he's really a good guy." He explained.

The alpha looked at him as if he were speaking an alien language. "Good guy?! He punched Tatsuya, strangled Alex and injured Kise during the basketball match!"

"I didn't say he was the nicest guy." The brunette pointed out to him. "Just that he's a good guy, deep down when he wants to be and only towards people he cares about."

Sighing, Kouki gave Kagami a pleading look as Nijimura scolded his mate for his past actions. "Just for today, can you guys please just get along? He's been my friend for so long and he even came all the way from America just to come to my wedding. I'm not saying that you need to be friends with each other, but can you just not fight? For me?" He begged, looking at his redheaded friend with his wide eyes.

Even though Kouki and Kagami were close friends, but the omega refused to let anyone talk badly about Haizaki and the brunette knew that his best friend had changed for the better since the basketball incident.

Yes, Haizaki's personality may rub many people the wrong way and the things he had done in the past completely justified Kagami's reaction to him. But in the end, Haizaki was still Kouki's best friend and the omega wanted his friend to be here beside him for his big day.

He was so touched that not only did the silver-haired omega travel all the way to Japan just for him, but he came knowing that the miracles would definitely be there and he would most likely have to deal with all of them again- this act showed just how much Kouki meant to Haizaki as well.

And since today was Kouki's wedding day, all his friends would just have to get along...or at least tolerate each other for at least a few hours only. It was the one thing he could ask from all of them.

After today, they could fight and sneer at each other all they wanted.

"Shh, Taiga calm down and come sit next to me." Tae told him gently, urging him to take a seat.

Kagami gave Haizaki one more disgusted look before sighing loudly and giving Kouki a defeated nod. "Fine. I'll get along with the bastard but only for you, Furi, okay? Just as long as he doesn't start anything first, then I'll be good." He scowled at the silver-haired boy as he took his seat next to his relieved girlfriend.

Kouki gave Kagami a wide smile as he looked at his friend, gratefully. "Thank you, Kagami. This means a lot to me."

Turning to his best friend, Kouki kicked his fellow male omega on his calf. "What the fuck, Kouki?!" Haizaki shouted grabbing his sore leg.

The brunette gave him an unamused look as he frowned deeply at his friend. "And don't think I missed the fact that apparently you caused a lot more trouble than I was aware of the last time you were here." Kouki had known about the Kise incident, but was unaware that Haizaki also had a run in with Kagami and the others. "I'll scold you later. After Nijimura-nii does, of course." He assured him, wagging his finger at the other.

Nijimura snorted, grinning at Kouki as Haizaki grumbled under his breath, giving Kouki a dirty look. But Kouki was used to getting looks like those from the other and was immune by it as he merely looked back at the other, hands now on his hips.

Kagami and the others were watching wide eyed at the easygoing relationship the two unlikely friends had with each other. Kagami in particular started to realize that maybe Haizaki wasn't a bastard to just everyone, at least not to Kouki and Nijimura anyway.

"Whatever." Haizaki rolled his eyes, fully aware of the earful he's gonna get later. "If today wasn't your wedding day..." The omega grumbled under his breath, making both Kouki and Nijimura chuckle as they knew that towards them at least, Haizaki was pretty docile.

When the last two of his party had finally taken their seats on one of the couches ("Why the fuck is there a whole freaking living room in your hotel room, Kouki?!") Kouki took a deep breath as he finally told everyone of his decision.

"Okay, first off I want to tell you all how happy I am that I have everyone here at last. Thank you all for being here for me on my wedding day, and for traveling all this way just for me and Sei. Well, maybe some only for me." Kouki gave a fond smile at Haizaki when the omega scoffed at Seijuurou's name being mentioned.

"Anyway, now that everyone is finally here, I would like to tell you all who I have decided as my man of honor- and again, I apologize to Coach and Tae, but I'm still very happy that you're both here in my wedding party." Both girls gave him understanding nods, making Kouki bowed to them once more before turning back to address everyone in the room.

"Now, I want to announce that I've chosen my man of honor to be....Shougo." Kouki grinned at the shocked look on the male omega's face.

"WHAT?!" Kawahara shot up from his seat, flabbergasted.

On the other hand, the others in the room looked as if they had expected it, and Takao in particular was laughing hysterically at the looks on Haizaki and Kawahara's faces.

"I'm sorry, but I care about you all so much- you're all my friends and each one of you are so important and special to me. I had such a hard time choosing who my man of honor would be so I just decided that since I like you all equally, I would just choose the person that I knew the longest. And that person is Shougo." Kouki explained.

"Haahh...I understand, Furi." Fukuda sighed. He too was disappointed, but he knew the omega's way of thinking and how hard it must have been for him to choose one of them to be his man of honor. And it made sense since Haizaki, though their friendship had been kept under wraps, really seemed to be very close to the brunette.

And any friend of Kouki's...well, he wouldn't be friends with the silver-haired guy, but at least he could be courteous with the other, nonetheless.

"I don't! I wanted to be the man of honor!" Kawahara sobbed into a pillow from Kouki's bed. "Urghhh....not only am I still single but now I don't even have title as man of honor? What has my life come to?!" Since the shaved head alpha was starting his dramatics once more, Kouki knew that his friend was alright and would accept the decision eventually after he got his emotions out.

And Haizaki was still stating at Kouki with his jaw dropped.

Kouki walked up to his friend and forced the other's mouth closed. "Shougo, you'll swallow flies." He playfully warned the other.

This snapped the omega out of his stupor and he batted the brunette's hand away, giving Kouki a glare. "I don't want to be the man of honor! I already don't want to be a part of your damn wedding and now I'm being forced to do more complicated shit?" He demanded.

Kouki rubbed the other's shoulder encouragingly. "You'll be fine. And I promise that you won't have to do much being my man of honor- it's really all in name, actually. All you have to do is walk down the aisle and that's it. After that, you can enjoy yourself at the reception and it's done." Kouki assured him.

"You're definitely lying." Haizaki accused him, giving him a distrustful look.

Kouki shook his head. "I swear, I'm not. Besides, it's already my wedding day and there's not much for you to do anyway. Reo-nee has everything covered and the guys already gave me a bachelor party yesterday." He reminded him.

"Yup! The party was a blast! You guys totally missed out!" Takao chimed in.

Haizaki still looked unsure, his face deep in a scowl. "I still ain't doing it." He humphed.

Kouki merely gave his friend a wide, friendly smile. "Actually, Shougo. I've been wondering this since you came in but what is that cologne you're wearing? It's really strong, isn't it?" He asked offhandedly, mentally smirking at the omega's paled face.

To everyone in the room and to the whole world, besides Kouki and Nijimura, Haizaki Shougo smelled 100% like a beta.

But if you removed the scent-voiding soaps and beta-induced scents that were doused on his body, then it would be obvious to anyone that Haizaki Shougo was 100% male omega.

And if they looked closely at the patchy skin that was hastily covered in skin-tone concealer on the omega's neck, then it would also be obvious that Haizaki Shougo was not only a male omega, but also very much bonded to Nijimura Shuuzou.

Just because most male omegas chose to reveal their secondary gender after being bonded, it didn't mean that all of those omegas would. And Haizaki was one of them- he would never reveal being an omega to anyone besides those who were already in the know.

Now, if someone else were to 'accidentally' reveal it for him....

"You wouldn't dare." Haizaki hissed, giving Kouki one of his most dangerous looks yet.

Kouki only blinked at him innocently. "Wouldn't I?"

The room was full of tension for another minute or two, no one saying a word as they watched the showdown between the two- Haizaki glaring at him while Kouki merely smiled back.

Finally, Haizaki exhaled loudly, giving Kouki an irritated but grudgingly impressed look. It wasn't everyday that someone would have the guts to stare Haizaki down like the brunette just did. "Fine, I'll be your man of whatever. Stupid Kouki..." He grumbled, sighing loudly again when the brunette threw himself once more to give him an enormous hug.

"Thank you so much! I'm so happy that you're my man of honor, Shougo!" Kouki yelled out happily, hugging his stiff friend extra tightly while the others in the room chuckled at them.

AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri

"This is a utter disaster!" Mibuchi cried, pacing back and forth as he prayed that a solution or a miracle will fall upon him in the next few minutes.

Kuroko stood off against one of the walls, fixing up Nigou's tux, as he looked at the beta. "Is there a problem, Mibuchi-kun?" The blunette asked.

Mibuchi paused in his frantic walking and gave Kuroko a devastated look, "One of the worst things that could happen today, has happened!"

The day had started off pleasantly enough. Everyone from Seijuurou's wedding party had woken up early in the morning (both Kuroko and Momoi had to drag a sleepy Aomine downstairs) to enjoy a delicious breakfast.

Then they had hung out at Seijuurou's large hotel room, laughing and chatting as they all relaxed before the makeup and hair stylists came to help them prepare for the day.

When they were all dressed up and styled in their outfits, they left Seijuurou in his room while they met up with Kouki's wedding party and had gotten quite a shock at the mysterious final two groomsmen in the brunette's party.

While the miracles were happy to see their old middle school basketball captain again, the same couldn't be said when they (minus Kuroko) saw their ex-team member and former delinquent.

There was much shouting and almost breakout fights as some of the miracles had the same reaction as Kagami did when he had first seen Haizaki.

Fortunately Mibuchi, Riko, Momoi and Nijimura managed to settle everyone down and after a quick explanation, the miracles grudgingly accepted their old teammate's presence there for today (although they were still wondering how the hell did sweet and nervous Furihata Kouki become friends with a delinquent like Haizaki).

Nevertheless, peace was once again restored as the much-awaited wedding was quickly approaching.

Everything had been going smoothly after that- the reception was set up, the wedding cake had arrived and the chapel was decorated simply with white wisteria hanging down from the ceiling, a gold runway for them to walk on and there were thousands of red roses and orchids decorating the room.

Both parties were dressed up smartly in their elegant clothes. [Seijuurou's party](https://www.polyvore.com/grooms_party/set?id=227430862) in clothes more on the red shade while [Kouki's party](https://www.polyvore.com/bridal_party/set?id=227430007) wore clothes on the gold shade.

Even the flower girl and ring bearer were there, both parents of the two cooing at their children and snapping a ton of photos of the little ones and the wedding party themselves.

But now, Mibuchi was gonna pull his hair out in frustration as he had just received horrible news.

"The minister will not be able to make it to the wedding!" Mibuchi shrieked, making some of the people around the room gasp loudly. "Apparently Father Joseph suffered from a stroke on the way here and is now in the hospital. That means he won't be able to marry Sei-chan and Kou-chan." He moaned.

Momoi walked up to the tall beta and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Isn't there anyone else we can get to come here on short notice?" She asked him gently.

Mibuchi shook his head, "They won't be able to arrive on time. The wedding is about to start in a few minutes and it would take at least one or two hours for a new minister to arrive. And I can't let our guests wait and be delayed for that long." He cried.

"Doesn't the hotel have their own officiant?" Midorima pointed out, wringing out the rainbow-colored handkerchief that he held in his hands (his lucky item for today).

"Their minister is on holiday leave for the weekend and the shrine priest is in the middle of a Shinto wedding right now and has two more couples scheduled to wed right after. I don't know what to do!" The beta groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Everyone was quiet as they tried to think of how to fix the crisis.

Suddenly, Mayuzumi appeared in the doorway, dressed up in a black, crisp suit that made the beta look very handsome. He looked around the room, his usual bored expression on his face. "Oh. My bad. I was looking for the restroom." He said. Noticing the distraught Mibuchi, he pointed his thumb towards the beta. "What's up with him?"

"The minister for the wedding isn't able to come and now we have no one to marry Kou-kun and Akashi-kun." Momoi explained sadly.

Mayuzumi raised an eyebrow at that. "I don't see what the big deal is. Anyone can be licensed to marry someone- all you need is the internet, money, plus a few minutes and automatically even a monkey can officiate a wedding." He pointed out to them.

"How do you know about this, Mayuzumi-kun?" Kuroko questioned.

"The same thing happened to one of my cousin's wedding and I ended up bring forced to get a license and officiate their wedding. It only took a couple of minutes for me to be ordained." He shrugged.

Mibuchi froze and he looked up at the beta with shining eyes. "Chi-chan, are you saying that you are licensed to marry someone?"

Mayuzumi blinked, realizing what he had just revealed. "No." He replied instantly before backing out of the room and turning on his heel as he ran away.

"CHI-CHAN/MAYU-KUN!" Mibuchi and Momoi both yelled out as they rushed out of the room to go after the escaping silver-haired beta.

Apparently with the officiant crisis being dealt with, Kuroko decided to take a short walk to visit a certain someone.

Knocking, the blunette waited for the door to open.

"How are you feeling, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko greeted the other when the redhead answered the door.

Seijuurou gave his best man a small smile as he let the other in. "I am feeling well. A bit anxious, but very excited to see Kouki." He confessed.

Kuroko smiled as he patted the other on the back. "So I see that there is no need for me to give you the pre-best man speech for encouragement, is there?"

"I would not mind hearing what you would have planned to tell me anyway." Seijuurou pointed out.

Kuroko took a seat on Seijuurou's bed and patted the spot beside him, getting the redhead to sit down.

"Akashi-kun...from the moment you told me that you wanted me on your team, you changed my life. You gave me the chance to play the sport I loved in front of everyone when no one else would. And because of that, it made the person I am today and now I have all the friends that would stand beside me for the rest of my life. I am truly grateful for everything.

"We've been through the good times and bad, we've laughed, we've argued, and we shed many tears. Though our road together was difficult with a lot of speed bumps along the way, we overcame all those obstacles and now everything is finally coming to a full circle today. And I can tell you how truly overjoyed I am that you managed to find someone like Furihata-kun to stand by your side and share your love for the rest of your lives.

"If you are feeling nervous or anxious right now, just remember that I am positive that Furihata-kun is feeling the same way. Possibly worse, though that would just have to do with Furihata-kun's personality and not anything to do with you personally.

"So as you stand at the altar, waiting for Furihata-kun to walk down the aisle, remember to take the whole moment in because as soon as you see your future husband walking down that aisle, I'm sure everything else around you will disappear and all your thoughts would revolve only around him.

"As it should be." The blunette pointed out, patting the redhead's shoulder.

There was a knock at the door, alerting them that they needed to head to the chapel now.

Standing up and straightening their suits, Kuroko looked towards Seijuurou. "Ready, Akashi-kun?" He inquired.

Seijuurou took a deep breath, slowly letting it out before he faced the blunette and gave him a sure and confident nod. "Yes."

Kuroko smiled as he pulled the door open. "It's time."

AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri

Seijuurou stood straight at the front of the altar, a serene smile on his face although he could feel his heart beating fast, as he watched the entire wedding party walking down the aisle with the processional song '[Always With Me](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q6A3x2dmygo)' from the movie, Spirited Away, playing in the background.

Hayama was the man in charge of the music for the night and had decided on a song both the couple would enjoy- something classical and instrumental for Seijuurou and something from an anime OST that Kouki would get giddy over (the male omega was a tiny bit of an otaku. Hayama knew this of course since they still had anime marathons together).

The song playing was the piano and violin version and it gave a soothing feel to the wedding, making Seijuurou also calm down himself a bit as he watched their flower girl and ring bearer going down the aisle.

Chiasa was so pretty in her light yellow dress, scattering around the red and white rose petals down the golden aisle. And Little Kouki was dressed up adorably, the 10-month old baby was taking a nap in his little wedding wagon, with the pillow where the rings were secured to it resting in the infant's lap.

And the baby wagon was being pulled by Nigou, who was all dressed up himself in a sharp tux with top hat.

Seijuurou and Kouki's wedding parties were paired off together, so the next one to walk down the aisle was Nijimura and Momoi. Nijimura was grinning proudly at Seijuurou as Momoi was tearing up, giving a watery smile to the redhead.

All the girls held [white bouquets](https://www.proflowers.com/product/The-FTD-White-Wonders-Bouquet-30200313?ref=homenoref&pid=30200297&q=30200313&searchhistory=Ftd%2c30200297%2c30200313&srchSuggestion=y&trackingpgroup=pid), all in an incredible array of blooms consisting of dendrobium orchids, roses, asiatic lilies, freesia, spray roses and mini hydrangea, which were all offset by lush greens and arranged in a cascade fashion.

Midorima and Takao were next, with the green-haired shooter having a very stoic expression on his face while Takao was actually behaving for once and walked arm in arm with his boyfriend with a bright smile on his face.

Kise cried as he walked down the aisle, wetting his red handkerchief with tears and a bit of snot with Riko on his arm, who was also sniffling as she dabbed at her own teary eyes.

The next pair was badly matched and a miscalculation on Mibuchi's part as Aomine and Kagami hissed at one another, thankfully barely avoiding a fight as they walked stiffly down the aisle.

Murasakibara looked bored but at least he wasn't eating anything as he walked in with Tae, the girl was smiling brightly and nodded her head in greeting to Seijuurou, who also returned the gesture.

Hayama and Kawahara were next, and the two actually got along pretty well ever since the bachelor party. They strutted down the aisle, grinning at everyone and giving thumbs up at Seijuurou.

Nebuya and Fukuda were also a bit mismatched- Fukuda was obviously uncomfortable beside the muscled man, but at least they were cordial towards each other (unlike the Aomine-Kagami pairing).

The last of the wedding party was the best man and man of honor, Kuroko and Haizaki. The blunette had his usual deadpanned expression on his face as Haizaki scowled, looking irritated but on the inside he was just relieved that out of all the miracle bastards, he was partnered up with Kuroko. The blunette was the lesser of the evils and Kuroko was one of the few people Haizaki could tolerate.

Then, everyone turned and watched the door open once more, revealing two figures behind it.

Seijuurou held his breath as he saw his Kouki finally there, standing at the end at the aisle with his proud-looking older brother, Kouta, standing arm-in-arm beside him.

[Kouki](https://www.polyvore.com/gold_mens_wedding/set?id=227427138) was dressed in a handsome white suit, with touches of gold here and there in his tie, vest and the handkerchief tucked in his jacket pocket. And Mibuchi even managed to get the omega's brown messy hair tamed down just for this occasion.

Mibuchi had decided to put Kouki in something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue. So Kouki's whole white suit was his something new, the Gucci blue socks with a golden bee that Mibuchi had lent him was his something borrowed and blue, and the gold watch on his wrist was his something old that he had been given to by Masaomi himself (it was a family heirloom and Kouki was shocked but grateful to be gifted with it).

And in the omega's hands held a stunning [bouquet](https://www.proflowers.com/product/The-FTD-Here-Comes-the-Bride-Bouquet-30200297?ref=homenoref&q=30200297&searchhistory=Ftd%2c30200297&srchSuggestion=y&trackingpgroup=pid) of white dendrobium orchids cascading from a compact of red roses, white stephanotis, red hypericum berries, spray pics and dangling teardrop glass crystal stems. It was presented in a gold metallic bouquet holder.

Kouki could feel his heart skip a beat as he saw [Seijuurou](https://www.polyvore.com/red_mens_wedding/set?id=227427672) for the first time, dressed up in a suit of ivory, with a golden vest and touches of red on his tie, handkerchief, belt, watch and shoes. His red hair was also combed back and Kouki couldn't help but wonder how the hell he was so lucky enough to get such a handsome man as his bond mate.

As Kouki made his way down the aisle, the omega was not aware of anyone or anything around him as his focus was solely on Seijuurou. All he was aware of was the full feeling in his heart and the pain from smiling too much.

As he neared his fiancé, Kouta and Seijuurou bowed to one another and the brothers shared one more hug before Kouta gently placed Kouki's hand in Seijuurou's waiting one and stepped away.

"Sei..." Kouki said breathlessly, not knowing what to say as he started to feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment by how stunning his alpha looked.

Seijuurou's eyes started to tear up a little as he reached over to gently thumb away the tears that Kouki was unaware that he was already shedding.

They took another minute to pull themselves together before they held hands and walked up to the altar to start the ceremony.

"Mayuzumi-kun?" Kouki gasped, startled when his mind was slowly calming down enough to finally notice who was standing before them.

The silver-haired beta was wearing the usual officiant white robes with golden stash around his neck that he had 'borrowed' from the hotel's original officiant. "You're the one who's gonna marry us?" Kouki asked, blinking at the other. He was not aware of the change.

The beta sighed, sounding as if in defeat. "Yeah, but don't ask why- all I'll say is that I blame Momoi and Mibuchi for this." He shook his head, mournfully.

Mayuzumi looked out to the audience with the usual deadpanned face back on his face, but it ended up matching well with the moment- giving the ceremony more of a serious mood to it. "Please be seated." He told everyone.

After the audience took their seats, Mayuzumi looked down at the script that he had taken from the internet at the last minute (with a few personal changes here and there) and began, "We’re all here today to celebrate the relationship of Furihata Kouki and Akashi Seijuurou and to be witnesses and supporters of the commitment they share with one another. Together, we’re a group of the most important people in their lives and they’ve brought us here to publically recognize that we’ve all played some special part in the love they share today.

"Furihata and Akashi wanted me to thank you all for being here and to recognize how important each and every one of you are to their relationship. They would also like to recognize all of those who couldn’t make it here today as they are certainly missed but not forgotten on this day of celebration.

"Speaking of important people, there were none more important in influencing the lives of Furihata and Akashi than their family. With that being said, who gives Furihata Kouki away in marriage to this man?" Mayuzumi made a gesturing wave at the redhead in front of him.

Kouki's brother, Kouta stood up proudly from his seat and answered, "Me. I'll give away my brother to you, but all I ask is that you let me borrow him every once in a while, huh?" He gave Seijuurou a teasing warning.

"Nii-san!" Kouki chided as the audience all laughed. Seijuurou grinned and nodded his head in agreement.

When the laughter died down, Mayuzumi started again, "Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for the long run...most likely forever.

"You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, isn't it? You're standing on a stage, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by pretty much everyone who has meant anything to you in the majority of your life. Not to mention, you have to spend a load of cash that would make the angels cry- though I doubt Akashi would even care about the amount." Mayuzumi raised an eyebrow as Seijuurou gave him an easy smile in return.

"So why do people do it? The marriage thing? The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation, and society. We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge its special status by sharing it with others. Why this moment?" Taking a pause, Mayuzumi looked directly at the couple before reading on.

"Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. Well, what you all share. It's the great unifier — our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe in, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right. That's why you both are standing here. That's why you all are here to watch them stand up here. We have all loved in our lifetimes...well, I guess some have.... and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity.

"All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing — and others that are exciting and full of adventure.

"The road that has brought Furihata and Akashi here today hasn’t been an easy one. It’s been filled with challenges that they weren’t necessarily prepared for. But together they’ve taken each one on and have used those experiences to strengthen, not weaken their love."

Mayuzumi flipped to the next page and began his reading, "In the Bible, first Corinthians chapter 13, verses four through eight tells us:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Looking up from his script, Mayuzumi blinked once. "All of you can take that as you will because I refuse to explain further...especially to certain idio- people." The beta corrected. There was a bit of grumbling from certain 'people' who the beta was obviously insinuating about.

Moving onto the vows, Mayzumi looked at the couple. "Furihata and Akashi, the vows that you are about to make are a way to share your love and commitment to each other in your own words. Sometimes poems, verses and quotes just don’t get the point across the way you need them to and the best option is just to do it yourself. Well, I'd personally be fine with anything from a book or the internet, but I guess it's not some people's cup of tea." Mayuzumi shrugged.

"You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep. You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises: you're vowing to be there. You're teaming up and saying to the other, "Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be a part of." These vows are your way of openly declaring your promise to one another as well as to all of those who are here in attendance today.

Mayuzumi looked towards Kouki, making the omega straighten up alerted. "Furihata, you can go first."

Kouki felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Haizaki shoving at him a paper with his vows, a deep frown on his face. Kouki smiled and thanked his man of honor as he took the paper. Looking back at his bond mate, Kouki took a deep breath to calm his nerves and began to read:

"In my life before I met you, I have had the pleasure of having the gift of love. I received this gift from my brother, who showed me the truest love that an older brother can give to his little brother." He turned to see Kouta sniffling as he smiled back at him.

"His love was the closest thing I ever had to a father's love- well, until I was accepted by your father. Then Masaomi-papa's love is truly the father's love that I've always wanted." Kouki's smile widened as he saw Masaomi looking very proud at being mentioned.

"My lovely adopted mother who is sadly not with us anymore, Tatsumi Ryoko-san, also gifted me with the true love of a mother. And I even received gifts from all our friends, who have given me friendships rich with their love." With that, all of their friends cheered and hooted, also happy of being mentioned.

The omega waited for everyone to settle down again before continuing, "When I was young, I never dreamt that I'd be living the blessed life that I have now. I believed before that I had everything I would ever want, and that there was nothing more that I could have ever ask for." Kouki took another pause here as he made sure to look up at his mate as he said his next words.

"And then I met you and that was when I truly realized that I didn't have the best thing in my life just yet." He smiled widely at the redhead, seeing Seijuurou beam at him.

"You were the embodiment of every wish, every hope, every dream that I never allowed myself to ever think was possible. When you returned the love I had for you...I didn't even know how to think or even feel. You left me absolutely breathless...I've almost fainted multiple times because of you, actually." He giggled.

"I could stand here and go on for hours about every single thing that I love about you. But I won't because our guests will kill me." They both chuckled as their audience laughed along with them.

"So, all I can say is.... thank you. Thank you so much, Sei. Thank you for being with me, smiling for me and showering me with endless gifts of love. Sei...thank you for gifting me with the type of love that I never really believed I could ever have in my life." After his vows, Kouki was smiling through his tears, laughing when Seijuurou wiped away the tears that had started to fall.

"Come on, wipe yourself up- you're getting snot everywhere." When Haizaki tossed him a handkerchief from behind, Seijuurou caught it and used it to wipe up his omega's cheeks.

Mayuzumi waited for the couple to gather themselves again before continuing on. "Okay, Akashi. You're next." He nodded towards the redhead.

Kuroko handed Seijuurou his own vows and the redhead looked up to give his mate a gentle smile. "People have told me, I was born with greatness in my blood, a silver spoon in my mouth and steel in my heart. But the moment you came into my life, you gave me life to my blood, soft lips to my mouth and love to my heart." He grinned when Kouki blushed at the last part while some of the audience ahh'd and whistled out loud.

"I grew up with an ignorant and narcissistic view of myself, thinking that because of how I was born and the way I was raised, I should be put above all others. That I was perfect." Seijuurou paused and raised an eyebrow at the few snorts from the wedding party he had gotten from his words.

Giving those people a 'look', he continued on. "And when the day came that proved that I was actually far from perfection, that was you stepped into my life and I was given a second chance to better myself...to become someone worthy of staying by you.

"I know there are times when I am actually hard to be with. You have fallen in love with someone who has so very many problems and I just want to say thank you for being there for me despite the reasons not to. I have a lot of flaws that could have pushed you away, but you're still here, trying to keep me."

Taking Kouki's hand, Seijuurou looked straight into his eyes as he repeated the words that he had memorized for the last weeks. "I did not fall in love with you... I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open and chose to take every step along the way. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we would choose anyway. And I would choose you- in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality."

Bringing his love's hand to his lips, Seijuurou placed a soft kiss right in the middle and told him sincerely. "I would find you and I would choose only you to love, Kouki. This is my vow to you."

"Sei...." Kouki whispered, tearing up again. And this time, the omega wasn't the only one since there was a collected amount of sniffling and sobs coming from the audience and both their wedding parties.

Mayuzumi waited until most of the waterworks were finally over and done with before saying offhandedly. "Okay. No offense, but both your speeches are very long... nice, but very long." Hearing laughter and snorting from the audience as everyone cheered up once more, the beta moved onto the ring exchanges. "Okay, please hand the grooms their rings now."

Kuroko and Haizaki gave the couple their rings and Mayuzumi nodded, "Okay Furihata Kouki and Akashi Seijuurou will now exchange rings to symbolize their commitment. Rings are derived from humble beginnings of imperfect metal to create something striking where there was once nothing at all. It is customarily worn on the ring finger as it is the only finger with a vein running directly to the heart. The wearing of the rings is a visible, outward sign that they have committed themselves to one another."

Facing Seijuurou, Mayuzumi said, "Akashi, please take Furihata's hand and repeat these words:

"I give you this ring, as a symbol of our love,"

"I give you this ring, as a symbol of our love,"

"For today and tomorrow, and for all the days to come."

"For today and tomorrow, and for all the days to come."

"Wear it as a sign of what we have promised on this day,"

"Wear it as a sign of what we have promised on this day,"

"And know that my love is present,"

"And know that my love is present,"

"Even when I am not."

"Even when I am not."

Seijuurou placed the ring gently on Kouki's ring finger.

When that was done, Mayuzumi now turned to Kouki, "Now Furihata, please take Akashi's hand and repeat these words."

"I give you this ring, as a symbol of our love,"

"I give you this ring, as a symbol of our love,"

"For today and tomorrow, and for all the days to come."

"For today and tomorrow, and for all the days to come."

"Wear it as a sign of what we have promised on this day,"

"Wear it as a sign of what we have promised on this day,"

"And know that my love is present,"

"And know that my love is present,"

"Even when I am not."

"Even when I am not."

With trembling fingers, Kouki finally managed to get his ring on Seijuurou's finger.

"Okay, now by sharing your vows and exchanging rings here today, you both have decided to share the rest of your lives together. You are no longer two separate people- though that doesn't really mean much since you two are always practically joined by the hip- but one couple together.

"In the traditional Japanese ceremony, there is a popular ritual included called san-san-kudo: san meaning "three," ku meaning "nine," and do means "to deliver" which is a cultural sake-sharing wedding tradition. This ritual dates back to a time when sharing sake created a formal bond as strongly as a handshake did in Victorian times. So, the grooms have decided to also take part of this ritual in their own wedding, even though they opted out of the shinto ceremony."

Using three flat sake cups stacked atop one another, Kouki and Seijuurou took three sips together from the cups (yes, it was actual sake, but for this time only, they decided it would be okay to consume a little alcohol). Then Masaomi and Kouta also took three sips each (for a total of nine sips), cementing the bond between the families.

"With the sake ceremony done, we're now to the part where most of us are waiting for. We are almost at the end, thank god." With a few chuckles from the audience, Mayuzumi began the last parts of the ceremony.

"Furihata and Akashi, you have professed your love by exchanging your vows. You have symbolized your commitment by exchanging rings. You even did the sake ceremony even though this isn't a Shinto wedding. With all of this, there is just one more question I need each of you to answer and then we can all be off to the reception to celebrate and where I can finally sit down." Mayuzumi sighed.

Turning to Kouki, Mayuzumi said the next words in a clear voice. "Furihata - do you take Akashi Seijuurou to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

Kouki smiled as he nodded his head enthusiastically. "I do!"

Mayuzumi nodded and turned to Seijuurou now. "Akashi – do you take Furihata Kouki to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

Seijuurou gave a nod, looking absolutely certain as he said his next words, "I do."

At this moment, Mayuzumi actually gave them a genuine smile as he nodded before finally declaring, "Well, then I guess there's nothing left for me to say but by the power vested in me- since I am the only one here licensed to marry anyone- I now pronounce you each other's husband. Since you're now stuck together, legal documents and all- Akashi, you may kiss your husband."

The chapel erupted in loud cheers, cries, hollers and clapping as Seijuurou brought Kouki into his arms and finally gave his new husband their first real kiss that day and everyday of their now married lives.

Pulling away to get some air, Kouki giggled happily as he stared at his grinning husband before pulling the alpha in again for another kiss.

"Okay, okay. Save it for the honeymoon, you two." Mayuzumi sighed, shakily his head at the kissing couple. "Anyway, for the first time may I present to you all Mr. Akashi Seijuurou and his husband, Mr. Akashi Kouki."

Kouki gave a laugh in surprise as the aisle then exploded with mini gold sparklers, shooting up to the air (they were only lights- completely harmless and wouldn't start fires).

And at least they wasn't the fire throwers that Mibuchi had originally planned.

Placing his arm around his new husband, Seijuurou grinned as he whispered into his husband's ear, "Shall we go now, Akashi Kouki?"

Kouki blushed pink, still feeling surreal at his new name but nodded happily. "Yes, Sei!"

AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri~*♡೫̥͙*:・ℋɑppყ Ϣәԁԁıɲɠﾟ･:* ೫̥͙♡*~AkaFuri

"Oh, the ceremony was lovely, Reo." Riko complimented, nodding in approval.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds went off to take a few wedding photos together while the rest of them headed to the reception area.

Breaking traditions, the wedding party was introduced first so that they could mingle with the other guests, with the grooms following later on. They all enjoyed the canapés and we're having a cocktail hour (alcohol for only the adults, all those underaged were given non-alcoholic but equally delicious drinks) while they all waited for the newlyweds to arrive.

The reception area was completely transformed.

The once gold and blue carpet was now replaced by gold and red, matching the theme of the wedding. And the huge, beautiful, gold chandelier was above everyone, sparkling brightly in the middle of the ceiling.

All the tableware and eating utensils were in sparkling gold with the tables covered in deep red cloth, including the napkins, and the chairs were also painted in gold.

The centrepieces on each table were cherry blossom trees that were sprayed a glittery white with lights twinkling down and surrounded by white glass candles and smaller arrangements of white orchids and red rose petals scattered around. The white centrepieces stood out nicely against all the red and gold in the room and the colorful garden outside, where some of the guests were now chatting and laughing together.

Mibuchi had placed a dance floor at the center of the room, in front of the groom's table, and it was electronic so images of burning fires, scattering leaves and floating clouds would all move around under your feet while you dance on the floor, making it seem like you were really dancing on fire or in the sky.

He had also gotten a portable planetarium. With one switch on, the whole room was filled with whatever moving images you wanted- whether it be surrounded by twinkling stars, birds flying high on the ceiling, bubbles floating on the walls...the ideas were endless. But for now, Mibuchi had placed it on a setting where the walls and ceiling were covered in white and pink wisteria trees, with some petals falling down gently.

The newlywed's table was up front in center with a giant cherry blossom tree behind and white wisteria hanging down above them. And the front of their table was where 1000 paper cranes were hanging from, all of them in a variety of colors to make them stand out even more.

Although Kouki was not good at origami, he was still able to fulfil the Japanese tradition of folding a thousand cranes for their wedding. A thousand cranes signifies good luck and fortune for the couple (Midorima in particular approved of this).

Kise nodded, "Yeah, the ceremony was great but just look at the reception! I mean, wow!" He gushed, eyes staring at the wedding cake that was situated at the front, near the groom's table.

And greeting each guest as they walked into the room was a photo gallery of pictures with Seijuurou and Kouki together- the guests especially loved the ones where the couple had taken a trip to Hawaii a few months ago.

Kasamatsu nodded, taking a sip from his drink. "Yeah, they went all out for this, huh?"

His boyfriend grinned as he turned to give the shorter man puppy eyes. "Don't you think a wedding like this would be perfect for us?"

Kasamatsu choked on his drink as he fought the urge to kick the blonde right then and there. But he did flick the the beta's forehead, painfully. "You idiot, who said I'd marry you in the first place?!" The ex-captain said all this with a blush on his face as he walked away.

Kise pouted, rubbing his forehead. "But, Yukiocchi! I meant it for the future! And of course I want to get married to you someday! Yukiocchi? Yukiocchi!" Mibuchi giggled as the poor blonde went after his blushing boyfriend.

"And I think it was such a smart idea to put some of the food and appetizers on the tables." Tae pointed out, watching as some of the hungry eaters of their guest- including her own boyfriend- devoured the sushi cakes and the food from the green tea menu.

Mibuchi rolled his eyes at Nebuya in particular, who had somehow gotten into an eating contest with Aomine. "Yes, well it was to be expected, after all. Anyway, they better all be on their best behavior since Sei-chan and Kou-chan should be back from their picture-taking soon."

"Ooh, but those photos from Hawaii are great- especially the one with Diamond Head in the background. Right, Ryou-kun?" Momoi cooed, looking at her fellow teammate.

"Uh, yes! It's stunning." Sakurai, who was also invited and was now tagging along beside Momoi, chewed one of the green tea brownies as he said shyly, "But it's really incredible that you managed to put together this entire wedding in only three months. My older sister was stressed enough when she had to plan her wedding in one year."

Mibuchi smiled as he told them, "I really enjoyed it. Yes, there were times where I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration when something went wrong, but most of the time, I felt like I was at home. Like this was what I was meant to do."

"So why don't you become a wedding planner for real?" Sakurai suggested, giving him an encouraging smile.

Momoi nodded. "That's right! Or maybe a party planner so you would have more options available?"

Mibuchi grinned as he looked excited at the idea. "Yeah. I think that's a great idea....I'll think about it more later- like until after I make sure this wedding goes off without any more hitches." He added, sighing. "Thank god, Chi-chan was here when the minister didn't show up- I was seriously afraid that we would have to postpone the wedding."

Takao laughed as he nodded, a green tea tiramisu in hand. "Hahaha! Having Mayuzumi-kun as the officiant was like the icing on the cake!"

"I think Mayu-kun did a great job!" Momoi smiled at the silver-haired beta who just happened to have his seat placed next to her.

Mayuzumi rolled his eyes as he looked at Mibuchi with a frown, "If you plan on doing this as a career, I'm telling you now that I refuse to play emergency officiant to any more weddings." He told the other bluntly.

"Even if I pay you for your services?" Mibuchi raised an eyebrow, smirking at him.

Mayuzumi blinked once before looking away, grumbling. "Dammit." He muttered as Momoi gave him a few sympathetic pats on the back.

"Excuse me." Everyone jumped as Kuroko suddenly appeared at their table. "I've received word from one of the staff that Akashi-kun and Furihata-kun have arrived." He informed them politely.

Mibuchi got up from his chair and clapped his hands. "Okay, time to get everyone inside and go to their tables!"

Kouki and Seijuurou were standing on the outside of the building, holding hands as they waited for their cue to enter.

"Are you alright?" Seijuurou asked his new husband, giving the other's hand a small squeeze.

Kouki gave him a small smile as he nodded. "A little nervous, but also excited. Taking those pictures earlier were really fun." He added, remembering the beautiful photos they had of the two of them walking through the hotel's grand garden, both in their suits and also in the kimonos they would be wearing later that night (they were finally worn down by their parties to wear both clothing).

The redhead grinned as he leaned in to steal a chaste kiss from the other. "Everything with you is fun to me." He enjoyed the blush on his omega's face as they both heard the MC (Master of Ceremonies who was also their DJ for the night) began to announce their arrival.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let us now welcome for the very first time as married husbands, Akashi Seijuurou and Akashi Kouki! Please give them your heartfelt applause!"

The main door flew open and Kouki's jaw dropped from finally seeing their wedding reception area for the first time.

Everyone stood from their seats, clapping and cheering when the main couple appeared. The wall screens had changed from the wisteria trees to bright golden streamers and confetti falling down with sparks of light shimmering on the screens.

And apparently Mibuchi had also set up hidden sparklers in each wedding arrangement on the tables, so every cherry blossom tree was now shooting off sparks above.

The couple made their way inside, with Kouki blushing a bright red from all the attention while Seijuurou gave everyone a courteous smile.

"Do you guys like it?" Mibuchi asked excitedly when they neared his table.

Kouki and Seijuurou looked at one another before turning back to the beta and smiled. "We love it, Reo." The redhead assured him.

"It's so gorgeous. I mean, all the trees and the walls are so amazing!" Kouki gushed, his eyes traveling around the entire room.

"I'm so relieved..." Mibuchi sighed, brushing off a tear from his eye. Despite everyone's reassurances, the beta really was worried whether the couple would like all his hard work. Now, he couldn't help but be ecstatic that his work was all being paid off.

"It's perfect, Reo. You did a wonderful job." Seijuurou assured him, allowing his sniffling friend to grab both him and Kouki into a tight hug.

After getting everyone settled down, it was time for Kouki and Seijuurou's first dance.

"And for their first dance, as a surprise to the grooms, it will be sung by the couple's close friend and also the best man of the evening, Kuroko Tetsuya!"

Everyone gasped or squealed and both Kouki and Seijuurou's eyes widened as they saw Kuroko get up on stage and give them a small smile as he took the mic.

"Kuroko-kun has dedicated this song to our lovely couple. The song is called, [Snow Light](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HytaDuabaa8), which is originally sung by Ono Kensho."

The lights darkened and the walls changed into falling snowflakes and the ceiling showed a starry night while the dance floor also turned into a white swirl of snow. The ballroom changed from a fiery red and gold into a winter wonderland- the drastic change of scenery really stood out and also paid tribute to the couple's first meeting at the winter cup.

Kouki smiled and blushed as Seijuurou took his hand and waist, making sure to hold the other close.

The intro to the song began and taking a deep breath, Kuroko sang.

_"The streets where you are shivering from the cold_   
_The seven colors beyond the blurred windows are hazy and twinkling_   
_I want to rush towards your freezing body and hug you tight_   
_Snow Light, Snow Breath, Snow Flakes."_

"Whoa, who knew that Kuroko knew how to sing?" Kagami paused in eating as he listened to his best friend- the blunette's singing voice had a very soothing and sweet tone to it.

"What I want to know is how did Furihata learn to dance so well?" Hyuuga wondered as they watched Seijuurou spin Kouki around the ballroom, making the omega laugh joyfully.

"Who knows, but they look very happy." Kiyoshi smiled, bobbing his head along to the music.

_"More than anything, I'm holding you close_   
_Drawing a smile and a gentle feeling in this hand_   
_I will not let it surround you_   
_I want to protect you._

_"I will pick up more and more white_   
_You are just_   
_My Snow Light."_

"You know, I also offered to sing for their first dance." Takao pointed out, watching as Kouki was now being dipped low while Seijuurou leaned down to give him a kiss.

Midorima snorted as he rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt they would have been happy if their first dance was to a rock song."

"I could sing ballads too!" Takao said, looking actually offended.

"Rock ballads don't count, Takao. Especially the emo types that you like to hum to often." Ootsubo Taisuke informed him, while Miyagi was scolding Midorima for bringing Takao's lucky item (a life-size doll of a green penguin) to the wedding.

_"Silvery, Dazzling,_   
_Morning Light_   
_I want to warm you_   
_Want to only love you..._

_"More than anything..."_

The room suddenly brightened up and from a winter wonderland, the room bloomed into spring as the gold chandelier shimmered gold and the walls showed cherry trees with blossoms and leaves falling down. And the dance floor was now a field of green grass and flowers.

To add it all off, was the explosion of white and silver confetti now showering down over all of them.

But the newlyweds dancing didn't really notice all of this. They were too focused on each other to pay any mind to their surroundings or anything else.

_"I'm holding you close_   
_Drawing a smile and a gentle feeling in this hand_   
_I will not let it surround you_   
_I want to protect you._

_"I will pick up more and more white_   
_You're my Snow Light_   
_Forever_   
_You are just my Snow Light."_

"Sei..." Kouki giggled as his husband lifted him up to twirl him around.

Seijuurou grinned as he stopped spinning them but kept the omega in his arms, holding him up.

Smiling at each other, they shared a tender kiss at the end of their dance.

Everyone clapped and whistled, cheering as Kuroko took a bow and got off the stage, immediately being engulfed by Kouki as the married couple thanked him for the song.

"Consider it part of my wedding present." Kuroko told them, happy that he could do this for them.

After their first dance, it was finally time for dinner. Everyone sat down as the food was handed out, everyone oohing and awing at the beautiful dishes for their high-class kaiseki meal.

As they ate, the speeches began. They insisted that only a chosen few were allowed to make a speech- they had a lot of friends and were afraid that too many speeches would be tiring to hear or if certain people were to say 'questionable' things in their speech. Hence, they only allowed a few chosen people to speak out.

The first one to make his speech was Seijuurou's father, Akashi Masaomi.

Clinking his glass, Masaomi made sure to have everyone's attention before he began his speech.

"Family, friends and especially Seijuurou and Kouki. I remember when Seijuurou was born. Seijuurou's mother, Shiori, was over the moon from the moment she held him in her arms and I was so proud to be the father of that baby boy.

"I remember when Seijuurou became the captain of the basketball team in middle school and his team won the state championship. Without him knowing, I was actually very proud of all his achievements, and still am proud to be the father of that teenage boy.

"And now today, I am proud to be the father of the man I see here, starting a family of his own and setting out on a great adventure with his wonderfully new husband. I am very proud of you, my son." Seijuurou almost stopped breathing, a few tears in his eyes as Kouki reached out to give his husband's hand a squeeze. The omega turned to his father-in-law and smiled widely at him.

"Kouki-kun....you are truly are a surprise to both Seijuurou and I. And you have done what not many are capable of- you proved me wrong, not once, not twice, but countless times over.

"You are truly a being with such an unassuming but kind presence...holding such a fiery and courageous and deeply faithful spirit within. You are just like my Shiori. And I humbly admit to everyone here that I could not have found Seijuurou a mate and spouse who was even a tenth as great as you.

"Kouki-kun, it has been an honor getting to know you over these last two years and I look forward to getting to know more about you from now on, as an Akashi. I am aware that Seijuurou knows just how lucky he is to have you. We are thrilled to welcome you into our family and we are exuberant to have the rest of your wonderful family here to celebrate with us. This is truly a joyous day." Kouki was now crying quietly again as he tried to hide his wet face in his handkerchief.

"As you begin your life together as a married couple, I question if there is anything I can say to you that will be of value. Most of life is about learning along the way, through the experience of living. I have to say that I simply ignored most of the advice I received in my life until I found out through my own mistakes and experiences that it was indeed good advice. Seijuurou, it seems like you have also been that way previously too. So, instead of offering advice today, I will make a request of you both.

"I will ask you, Seijuurou and Kouki-kun, to just keep loving each other. Today, it will be very easy for you and maybe it is hard to imagine otherwise, but sometimes life does get busy and difficult and we can get distracted from what is really important. You have decided that your love for each other is important enough to make a lifetime commitment. Always remember that, even in the difficult times- simply keep loving each other and your lives will fall into place beautifully.

"So I ask you all to please rise and join me- in this first of many toasts- to wish my son and my new son-in-law, a long and joyous married life together. May your lives be entwined like the strong leaves of ivy on a high castle tower. May your joy never end like the circles of your wedding rings." Everyone cheered as Masaomi took a sip of his drink before taking his seat.

"Wow....that was intense." Kawahara whispered as Fukuda nodded. It was hard for anyone to interrupt a speech like that, from a man like Masaomi.

The next one to give a speech was from Kouki's older brother, Furihata Kouta.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Furihata Kouta, and one of the groom's older and very good-looking brother. On behalf of our deceased parents who obviously couldn't be here with us today, I wish to thank you all for coming to celebrate this special union with us. We are so happy that so many of our friends and loved ones were able to come here to enjoy this splendid occasion with us.

"What can I say about Kouki? Even though we're a few years apart, we've always been close. I mean, I can still remember him dancing around the house in nothing but his underpants on his head, singing to the Pokemon theme song. What a cute 12-year old he was...." He sighed.

"Nii-san!" Kouki screeched as the audience all laughed.

The alpha stuck his tongue out at him. "Nope! If I have to give you away at such a young age, then I'm gonna do it with a bang. So....I also remember the times when we would play pranks on each other. I would place fake roaches under Kouki's sheets, and then in revenge he would place my hands in warm water while I slept and it sucked when that trick actually worked! But as payback I put blonde dye in Kouki's shampoo- and yes, Seijuurou. I DO have a picture of a blonde Kouki....okay, I'm gonna stop now since Kouki's looking like he really will murder me in my sleep tonight." Kouta held his hands up in surrender as the omega really looked at him murderously right now.

"Anyway, because of all the crazy and childish things I remember doing together, it really makes today seem like a wild dream. I mean, this morning I proudly walked my little brother down the aisle to marry his bond mate. My little brother is a married man now! That's crazy and my mind still hasn't comprehended it yet.

"But, it was also amazing to watch them exchanging their vows in that beautiful chapel overlooking that awesome garden. It does one's heart good seeing two good people come together.

"Kouki has always been the gem in our family- the heart of what the Furihata family was. I have no doubt he will also be a blessing to Seijuurou and his family. I'm so proud to see you together with the love of your life, Kouki. And thank god, your new husband and I actually get along great." He grinned, giving them both a wink.

"Kouki has always been the best little brother I could have ever asked for. We've been through so much hardships and sadness in our lives, but also plenty of happiness together that overrides all the bad. He always looked up to me while growing up, but now his eyes are straying to another. I used to be superman in his eyes, but now he can be just as super himself on equal ground with his husband this time. Honestly, it makes me both sad and want to tease him mercilessly for leaving me." He pouted, making everyone laugh.

"Seijuurou, I'm so glad that you married my brother. And always remember, if you break his heart...they will never find your corpse. Masaomi-san, thank you for taking Kouki into your family and I'm happy that you even extended that welcome towards me too. I'm glad that the small little family between us brothers can now grow into a big and happy family.

"Today, we are surrounded by so many friends and loved ones who have been important to this awesome couple. Some have traveled hundreds of miles, just to be here today. We feel very privileged to have all of you here sharing this special day with us and truly, thank you all for taking care of my Kouki. More than anyone in this world, my little brother deserves all the love this universe can offer. Truly, thank you all very much for coming.

"So now...family and friends, let's raise a glass and toast to a lifetime of love and happiness for my brother Kouki and my newest brother Seijuurou!" More cheering and clapping sounded as Kouta finished his speech and gave his brother and new brother-in-law a big hug.

Kouki grabbed his brother tightly and whispered in his ear, "I'll always be with you, Nii-san. Because no matter what, you'll always be my superman."

Kouta cried as he held onto his brother for a few more moments before taking his seat, letting his boyfriend dabbed away his tears and give him a comforting kiss on the cheek.

The next one to give their speech was the best man, Kuroko Tetsuya.

"Hello. I am Kuroko Tetsuya and I was honored to be Akashi-kun's best man for his wedding. I am not very comfortable speaking in public, so please excuse my shortened speech.

"I have known Akashi-kun for about six years now. And I have known Furi- ah, I mean Akashi Kouki-kun for three years. Well, I should apologize beforehand but I will still call you Furihata-kun, Furihata-kun." He informed them, making Kouki smile and nod that it was okay.

"Anyway, I will confess that although many others were surprised by your union, I honestly was not. I knew it since that day on those stairs during our winter cup....I knew that you were soulmates. So thank you for marrying and not dragging the suspense of your inevitable wedding out for too long." The audience chuckled as the newlyweds grinned at the blunette.

"Akashi-kun, please take care of Furihata-kun. Furihata-kun, please take care of Akashi-kun." Kuroko gave them stern looks as he said this, the couple nodding their heads in promise.

"Now I will end my speech with a quote by one of my and Furihata-kun's favorite authors, C.S. Lewis. 'Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story no one on earth has ever read, which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before'. May I pray that this be your story together. Cheers, to Furihata-kun and Akashi-kun." Kuroko raised his glass and there were more cheers and hollers as they toasted once more.

Turning to leave, Kuroko paused for a moment before turning back to the mic, "Oh, excuse me. I have one more quote that I remembered that I would like to add. 'Marriage is like a book. The whole story takes place between the covers'. Thank you." With that, the brunette left the stage, leaving the audience cracking up and some confused.

"Wait... Did Tetsu just say something dirty just now?" Aomine asked, looking confused but in disbelief that his old shadow may have just said something lewd.

Momoi was blushing but nodded her head. "Yup."

Aomine snorted as he turned in his seat and gave Kuroko a thumbs up, reviving a smirk in return from the blunette. "Nice one, Tetsu! Damn, I'm so proud- I've taught you well."

The next one to give a speech was the man of honor, Haizaki Shougo. But there was one problem...

"I don't fucking want to!" Haizaki spat, glaring at Nijimura who had found him squatting alone in the garden. Apparently, the male omega had an idea of what he would be forced to do as soon as Kuroko started his speech. So to avoid it, he had snuck outside to the gardens.

"You don't have to make say too much. Just say congrats and add a few nice words and then it's all done." Nijimura urged his mate to get up.

But the male omega was stubborn. "Hell no! I ain't getting up there just to make a fool outta myself!" He slapped the other's hand away.

"Shougo?" The omega froze as Kouki walked up to his best friend and kneeled down so they were eye-to-eye with each other. "You don't want to congratulate me on my wedding day?" He pouted, looking disappointed.

Haizaki snorted, "I ain't making no speech in front of all those bastards in there." He grumbled, giving Kouki a dirty look. "And fuck you for not telling me about having to make a speech."

Kouki shrugged helplessly. "In fairness, my mind was pretty occupied all day today. It just slipped my mind."

The silver-haired omega gave him an accusing look. "My ass, you forgot. I bet you didn't tell me so you could corner me later on."

The brunette sighed, being caught. "Okay, I did. But do you really not want to tell me anything? Are you really not happy that I'm married?" He said sadly.

Haizaki made a frustrated noise. "I don't want to make a damn speech and I fucking mean it!"

Kouki was quiet for a few moments before finally saying softly, "Okay. I won't force you to make a speech and I apologize for trying to trick you like that." The other didn't look at him but Kouki knew that the omega was listening so he continued, "So, just between you, me and Nijimura-nii....will you tell me what you would have said if you made that speech?"

Haizaki was quiet for almost five minutes. Without looking at Kouki, Haizaki mumbled. "I ain't happy and never will be okay with you being together with that damn Akashi- let alone being married to that redheaded midget.

"But....

"I don't hate how happy you look whenever that bastard is around. So....I guess it's fine. You being married to him, I mean. If you had to tie your life down with someone...well, you're already bonded with the devil. Being married to him doesn't change shit, right?

"So....congrats. I guess." Hearing sniffles, Haizaki peeked at the brunette and his face turned to one of horror at the other's weeping face.

"What the fuck- ACK!" Haizaki nearly choked as Kouki pulled him into a tight hug, almost suffocating him. "Get off me!" He shouted, trying to pry the other off him.

Kouki wasn't affected by the other's hits as he sobbed even more. "You're my best friend too, Shougo! I'm....so HAPPY! I chose my man of honor well!"

Haizaki sighed in defeat and just waited for the other to let go of him, giving his own smiling alpha who was watching them an irritated scowl and his middle finger.

"Kou-chan! You look like you've been crying!" Mibuchi gasped, horrified when the brunette later returned from the gardens.

Kouki waved off their concerns and sat beside his worried husband once again. "Oh, I'm fine. I was just overwhelmed by the touching speech Shougo gave me in the garden. It was so sweet." He sighed happily.

"Seriously?" Kagami whispered to Kuroko in disbelief. The blunette merely shrugged, just relieved that Kouki was alright.

"Anyway, Shougo is too shy and his private speech was more than enough for me. So I'm sorry Reo-nee, but can we skip him?" Kouki asked, smiling as his husband kissed his cheek while spreading some of his calming pheromones to him.

Mibuchi frowned. "But he was supposed to be the closing speech!" He complained, clearly unhappy at something not going as planned.

"Why doesn't someone else in my party make a speech instead? Will that be alright?" The omega suggested.

Suddenly, Takao appeared with a wide grin on his face. "I'll do it!"

Mibuchi gave him a suspicious look. "I don't know about this..."

But the Shuutoku player just waved him off as he made his way towards the stage. "Just leave it to me. TRUST ME." He said with a wink.

The fourth speech was made by one of Kouki's groomsmen, Takao Kazunari.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I may not be either of the groom's best man or man of honor, but I assure you that I was a close second." He grinned as everyone laughed.

"Loyal, caring, sincere, honest, a great man....but that's enough about me, I'm here to give a speech about our grooms here!" Takao sighed as he finally decided to get serious...somewhat.

"Now, I haven't known Furi or Akashi for too long, but I do consider them as friends. Especially Furi. In fact, I am the proud vice-president of the Omega Protection Squad. And with ambition and perseverance, may I be promoted to president in the near future!" He pumped his fist in the air, like a presidential candidate.

"Don't use this time to promote yourself!" Shuutoku's current captain yelled at him.

"It's never gonna happen!" Hayama, the current president, called out.

Takao stuck his tongue out at the blonde before continuing his speech. "Anyway, after bonding together after an experience involving a vengeful evil sprit banshee who also possessed people, I had a feeling our friendships would last forever...or at least until our hairs turn grey...or, actually I'm not sure about yours Akashi. Does red turn into grey or into a very light orange?" He wondered. His boyfriend, Midorima, looked like he was regretting even being associated with the beta at the moment.

"Okay! I've never been married and I haven't even been dating as long as Furi and Akashi has- oh, and shout out to my Shin-chan! Love you babe~ So! Even if I may not have had as much experience in love, I still know the feeling of love very much. So I will like to give our newlywed couple some words of advice."

Clearing his throat, Takao looked directly at said couple. "To the two things that make a good marriage- having a good sense of humor and selective hearing. Always remember that." Everyone cracked up while some who were married, nodded in agreement.

"And I would also like to add in a poem, if I may- don't give me that look guys, I have a very poetic sensitive soul deep down inside, you know. Anyway, here is a poem to help you through married life: 'To keep a marriage brimming with love in the loving cup, when you are wrong, admit it and when you're right, shut up!' Yes, thank you!"

Takao waited for all the laughter to die down again before he continued, "Akashi and Furi, before I finish my awesome speech, I'd like you both to face each other right now." When the two were facing each other, the beta said, "Please remember this face for the rest of your lives. Never forget a single detail on it. For you are now looking into the eyes of the person who is statistically most likely to murder you."

"Takao!" Midorima finally lost his patience and shouted at him as everyone bursted into laughter once more.

Takao gave everyone a wink. "To love, to laughter, to happily ever after- raise your glasses to our grooms! Love ya guys!" And with that, Takao left the stage, waving and feeling completely satisfied.

After the speeches, the meals were nearing the end, with dessert, hot tea and coffee being handed out. At this time, they decided to do the father-daughter dance.

Well, the brother-brother dance, in this case.

"I still can't believe you're a married man." Kouta sighed as he danced around with his brother on the dance floor, making sure not to step on the other's hakama.

Both Kouki and Seijuurou had escaped for a few minutes and had later returned, dressed in their second outfit of the night- the traditional Japanese wedding outfit for men, [Hakama](http://overseas-wedding.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hakama.jpg).

But their Hakama had a twist to the traditional garb and instead of being colored only black and white, Seijuurou had gold mixed in his while Kouki was more on the white side which gradually turned black at the bottom.

"Me neither." Kouki confessed. "I still feel like I'm dreaming and then I'll just wake up one day and find myself back in bed, getting ready for another boring day of school."

Kouta chuckled as he gave his brother a spin. "But one thing is for sure- you 100% deserve all of this. You, out of everyone here, deserves to be happy." He said seriously. "You are happy, right?"

"Extremely." Kouki said with no hesitation, roaring in laughter when his brother picked him up (was the omega so skinny that just anyone could pick him up?) and spun them around in circles.

After the brother-brother dance and about an hour for everyone to get their dancing on (who knew some of their friends- like Mitobe and Wakamatsu- knew how to break dance?), it was time to cut the cake.

"Wait...that's a cake?!" Kouki pointed, looking in disbelief at what he had first thought was one of the decorations.

Their [wedding cake](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/04/07/09/3F0843A700000578-4389566-image-a-20_1491553536601.jpg) was a breathtaking Japanese pagoda cake that was an astonishing nine tiers tall. It features intricate icing detail, including Kouki and Seijuurou hidden on the bottom tier, as well as Japanese inspired symbols. Red flowers contrasted against the white of the cake and a gold warming light shined through each of the tiers windows.

"Okay, I know you said that you didn't want flowers on the cake, but to me, a wedding cake just isn't a wedding cake without a few flowers on it. So I told the cake makers to not drown the cake with flowers. And for Sei-chan, I made sure that this cake was in pure white- with only accents of color from the red flowers and gold lights. Also, you did say you wanted a unique cake and this is unique so..." Mibuchi trailed off.

Seijuurou chuckled, also looking very impressed. He watched his husband look at the cake closely in detail. "It is very unique alright....it's amazing, Reo."

"How is this a cake?" Kouki wondered, tapping on some of the walls of the pagoda carefully.

"Majority is cake and the most of the decorations are made of white chocolate and sugar paste. So the entire cake- minus the lights- are edible." Mibuchi explained to him. "I knew that you would appreciate the structure, Kou-chan, since you are taking architecture next year. So the pagoda structure was an added bonus."

Kouki grinned. "This is incredible! Like, I don't even mind the flowers because they just enhance the cake itself and its so big and tall and...its just more than I ever imagined it could be. Thank you, Reo-nee!" He hugged the beta tightly, still staring up at the cake.

Mibuchi giggled as he hugged the omega back. "You're welcome!"

Seijuurou and Kouki both held the cake cutter and together, they cut the cake, smiling at each other as the crowd cheered while Himuro had to hold his napkin to his boyfriend's drooling mouth.

"Here, Kouki." Seijuurou lovingly fed the first bite of green tea and sakura cake to his beloved.

Kouki hummed as he chewed the cake- still just as delicious as the first time he tasted it- and also fed his husband some cake, making sure to leave a bit of frosting on his nose.

"Kouki..." Seijuurou teasingly warned as the brunette giggled.

Kouki kissed his nose, taking the frosting with him. Blushing a bit as he still giggled, he cheekily said, "Got it!"

As everyone enjoyed the green tea cake and also the mexican chocolate cake that was their second flavor choice, the newlyweds decided this would be the perfect time to make a short thank you speech to their guests.

"Um...." Kouki said shyly, feeling awkward as he always did when he had to speak in front of a crowd.

"You can do it Furi/ Go Furi!" Kouki smiled as his teammates and friends yelled out their encouragements.

Taking a deep breath, he started again. "I want to say thank you for attending Seijuurou and my wedding. It means a lot to us that we have all the support from our friends, family and loved ones. Um...I don't really know what more to say but just, thank you for coming today." Giving a bow, Kouki blushed as everyone clapped and his friends cheered and whistled at the end of his speech. Sighing, Kouki took his seat again, relieved that that was over.

Seijuurou kissed his cheek and whispered how proud he was of him before he stood to make his own thank you speech. "Kouki and I want to thank all of our guests for taking the time to celebrate with us today. We understand that being here today was not as easy for some, so we acknowledge and thank everyone who has made such sacrifice just to be here for us today.

"We truly are humbled by the show of love and support that we have received from family and friends not just today, but also over the last few years. So many of you have helped with various aspects of our life and we cannot express our gratitude enough for it.

"And we want to give special recognition to our wedding planner and dear friend, Mibuchi Reo, who have helped with all aspects of the wedding planning and even though he only had three months to get this wedding together, I can say that he did a wonderful job of everything and that this wedding would not have been nearly as beautiful or as organized without your help. Thank you, Reo." Seijuurou smiled as he saw the beta crying, with Kouta rubbing his back while trying to wipe up his tears.

"This is certainly a special day for Kouki and I, and I hope that the support that you've shown us will continue. As we embark on our new life together, I hope that those of you who have been married for many years will be willing to offer us advice when needed. We are committed to staying married for the long haul, and we know it will be so much easier with all of you by our sides.

"Please feel free to enjoy the rest of the party, and again, thank you all very much for being here today. It means more to us than I could ever hope to express." Everyone cheered and clapped as Seijuurou took his seat and smiled as his husband leaned into him, resting his head on his shoulder as they fed each other cake.

After the cake, it was time to do one more wedding tradition- the bouquet and garter tosses.

"Furi, over here!" One of the girls yelled.

"Aim to the right! Aim to the right!" Another one screamed.

"BACK OFF YOU HARPIES! THAT BABY'S MINE!" An elderly woman roared.

"Damn, women are scary." Aomine shuddered, as he watched his own pink-haired childhood friend stare intently at the bouquet, as if using her sheer will to bring the bouquet her way.

Sakurai, whose seat was beside Aomine's, nodded his head, also spooked. "Seirin's coach just bit someone." He shakily pointed to a smug looking brunette as another disheveled girl walked away, cradling her arm.

Kouki took a deep breath, cancelling out all the screaming and cursing from behind him, as he grasped his bouquet. Exhaling, the omega swung his arms back and threw the bouquet to somewhere behind him.

Everyone held their breaths as they watched the bouquet soar through the air...

...and land straight onto the lap of a bored looking silver-haired beta.

"Ah." Mayuzumi's deadpanned face stared uncaringly at the bouquet on his lap. "Yeah, this isn't gonna happen. Here, you take it." He tossed the bouquet towards the nearest person next to him- Momoi.

"Oh my god, YAY! I got it!" Momoi squealed, jumping around as she clutched the bouquet. "Thank you Mayu-kun!" She gave Mayuzumi a big kiss on the cheek, making the beta only roll his eyes, before she turned to stick her tongue out in triumph at the other bitter-looking women.

For the garter toss, the room erupted in whistles and hollers as Kouki's face was a permanent red as Seijuurou went underneath his Hakama to retrieve the garter.

"Sei!" The embarrassed omega screeched as he smacked the redhead's back when the redhead teasingly bit something he shouldn't have during that time. Seijuurou came from underneath his Hakama, with a wide smirk on his face and a red and black garter in his mouth.

Unlike the bouquet toss, the feeling was a lot less deadly for the garter toss. But there was some healthy competition as they competed with who could catch it first.

Like a slingshot, Seijuurou sent the garter flying into the crowd...

...and landed right onto his ex-middle school's captain's shoulder.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Haizaki demanded, looking horrified at his mate.

Nijimura gave him a sly smile as he played with the garter he had 'caught' in his hands. "Well, who am I to deny a sign from kamisama himself. So, shall we Shougo?" He grinned as the omega spluttered.

"Like hell I do!" Haizaki spat, getting up and stomping towards the garden, with Nijimura following after him, grinning since he caught a sight of his mate's blush as he left.

Thinking it was all done, Mibuchi then announced that there was one more toss that has been popular recently- the broccoli toss.

Whoever caught the broccoli (the actual vegetable and Mibuchi was even thoughtful enough to add a small bottle of kewpie mayo to the bouquet) the person would then be blessed with plenty of children. It was considered a substitute for the garter toss (since some Japanese people were too conservative to do the garter ritual) but Mibuchi thought it'd be fun to do all three tosses.

"Okay, so I just throw this too?" Seijuurou asked, looking at the broccoli questioningly. He had never heard of this before.

Mibuchi nodded, giving him a thumb up. "Yup! That's right!"

All the guys looked more animated at this toss, teasing whoever would catch it would probably get ten or twenty children.

Seijuurou turned around and like Kouki had, threw the broccoli behind him....

...and into the hands of a surprised red and black-haired tiger.

"Good luck, Tae." Riko winked at the now blushing girl.

Kagami was also blushing but he didn't mind everyone's whistles too much as he chewed on some of the broccoli he caught- with the mayo on top, it actually tasted really good.

With all the traditions done, everyone was free to dance and mingle or even continue eating whatever food was still left out.

All the couples slow danced to the ballad songs and on the faster songs there was a dance competition or two that broke out on the floor. An interesting battle was between the retired Seirin basketball players against the retired Touou players (they argued something about a revenge from a past sauna battle).

Kouki laughed as Kawahara and Fukuda yanked him onto the floor as they did a three-way dance together, where halfway through Takao and Kagami would break through and join in with them.

Seijuurou danced with the uncrowned miracles, smiling as Mibuchi tried to get Mayuzumi to join in. And although he was unsuccessful getting the silver-haired beta on the dance floor, Momoi managed to get Mayuzumi to slow dance at least TWO songs with her.

Kuroko and Ogiwara were like professional dancers- they were twirling around the dance floor gracefully as the alpha would do lift ups with the beta, spinning his boyfriend in the air and not dropping him even once. The two were so in sync with each other.

Speaking of slow dancing, Aomine finally managed to ask Sakurai for a dance and watching the couple slow dance was totally funny and awkward to watch (Kuroko, who was dancing with Ogiwara, would go next to his old light and whisper to the other to loosen up).

But despite the awkwardness, everyone could see the blush on Aomine's face while Sakurai, although keeping his gaze on his feet, looked very happy in the other's arms.

Takao even got Midorima to dance with him during the slow dances and the green-haired shooter actually managed to get his hawk-eyed boyfriend to blush when the taller boy surprised him with a short kiss in public.

"Hmph. You're not the only one who knows how to surprise someone." Midorima grumbled, looking away with cheeks reddened.

Takao hugged the other tightly, making the tall boy choke, and for the first time, Takao was so happy that he was speechless.

Kise loved dancing with Kasamatsu- on either the slow or fast songs- since this was the only time his boyfriend wouldn't hit or scold him, even once. The blonde was so giddily happy.

Murasakibara only danced to the slow songs but he stayed on the dance floor during the fast songs, with Himuro dancing around him and using him like a pole. A bit inappropriate at times, but Murasakibara didn't look like he minded much.

There was even a surprise dance for the couple courtesy of the omega protection squad and Kouki's two best buds from the freshman trio. The five guys danced to a song from Kouki's favorite group, Arashi and the song was 'Ai Wo Sakebe'. Kouki giggled when Kawahara and Fukuda made a heart shape and winked at him near the end.

And finally, Seijuurou and Kouki made sure to dance together many times during the night, the omega super grateful with all the dancing lessons he had been taught for today. At least he wouldn't look like an idiot when Seijuurou brought him into a waltz before changing into a tango.

As the night went on, Kouki began to feel tired so he decided to take a break from the party and get some fresh air outside.

Choosing the banquet hall with a connecting private garden was a good choice since it gave the guests a chance to have some quiet alone time from all of the festivities happening inside.

Kouki spotted Haizaki and Nijimura sitting together on one of the shrouded lounge chairs, away from prying eyes as they talked together.

And to his right, Kouki smiled and gave a wave to his now father-in-law as the older man chatted with a few of the businessmen he did invite to the wedding.

Taking a seat on a wide swing that was off to the left, it was in a secluded area which was perfect since he wanted some privacy. The omega sighed as he sat down.

Slightly swinging back and forth, Kouki was quiet as he found himself feeling very lethargic all of a sudden, as if all the events from that day was finally hitting him all at once.

Staring up the stars in the sky, Kouki stayed there for a while as he enjoyed the peace and quiet as he let his mind take in everything.

He was so lost in his own thoughts, that he jumped when he heard a voice sound from behind him, "May I join you?"

Kouki turned and saw Seijuurou coming up to him. "Of course, Sei." The brunette smiled as he scooted a bit so the other could sit.

They snuggled together on the spacious swing, and Seijuurou held him in his arms as they both slowly swung back and forth, watching the stars together.

"How are you feeling, Kouki?" Seijuurou asked him gently, letting his omega leaned into him as they enjoyed the peace away from the party.

"I'm fine. I guess it's just hitting me now how exhausted I really am...but I'm happy that this is all over and that we're actually married now." Kouki admitted, smiling when he he felt a pair of lips press onto the top of his hair.

"I am very happy as well. I'm filled with joy whenever someone calls you my husband or I yours." Seijuurou agreed, both of them beaming at one another.

They were quiet for a while, turning to look at the ongoing party when they heard shouting and saw some of their friends had now formed a conga line- with Hayama in the lead- as they snaked around the room while Momoi dragged Sakurai and Aomine up to the stage with her to sing an upbeat song called, '[GO GO☆Tōō](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q12g1__UeWI)'.

Well, Momoi and Sakurai sang- the newlyweds weren't quite sure what Aomine was trying to do.

Shaking their heads, the couple chuckled as they turned back to watch a few fireflies up ahead, dancing around the flowers.

Giving a yawn, Kouki looked down and noticed the ring that was on his finger. Bringing it up to his face to see it closely, this was the first time that the omega really had a chance to look at the details of the ring.

The [wedding band](https://www.gemvara.com/jewelry/milgrain-crown-band-3mm-round-cut/mens-18k-rose-gold-ring-with-ruby-and-diamond/d5bxd) featured channel-set round gemstones with milgrain trim and squared edges, making a bold, masculine statement. He was told that the ring was made of 18K rose gold with alternating gems of rubies and diamonds. It was lovely and simple but at the same time, not too plain and the small gems showed off some of the extravagance that suited an Akashi.

"This ring better not have cost as much as my engagement ring did." Kouki warned, turning to give his suddenly innocent-looking husband a suspicious glare.

A few weeks ago, Mibuchi had accidentally let slip how much the omega's engagement ring had cost. And Kouki was predictably unhappy about the expensive price.

Mibuchi at the time, only gave him a sheepish look. "In Sei-chan's defense, he was contemplating getting you the Bvlgari blue diamond ring for $9.5 million, over ¥1 billion, but he didn't since he knew that you were very smart and would kill him for buying that ring when you eventually find out." He pointed out.

Kouki was still not amused. "So since he couldn't buy the ¥1 billion ring, he thought a ¥3.7 million ring would be fine?" He demanded, an incredulous expression on his face.

"Yes, but again in his defense, that is a huge compromise for him!" The beta insisted.

Kouki sighed, shaking his head. "Since I love Sei and I am aware of how my idiot mate is, I won't murder him (especially not before our wedding). But as soon as the wedding's over, I'm going to lock up my engagement ring in a safe, where it belongs." He threatened, unable to even look at the platinum engagement ring on his finger and cursing himself for not thinking much before about the cost of the large diamond.

Seijuurou brought his hands up, also remembering how the omega had scolded him and gave him the silent treatment for a day when they saw each other again.

"I vow to you that our wedding rings cost much less than your engagement ring. I chose something that would match us both- rose gold for it would blend beautifully with your skin color and ruby and diamonds to give our rings some personality." The alpha explained.

Kouki narrowed his eyes at the other, still suspicious. "And how much does this 'personality' cost?"

Seijuurou sighed. "Since the gems are small and rose gold is less expensive than platinum, our bands cost only at little over ¥430,000 ($3,840)." He informed the other.

Kouki's eyes widened at that. "Only ¥430,000?!" He hissed.

"That is a very reasonable price, Kouki. Well, for me it is." The alpha pointed out.

Kouki sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. The ring is very beautiful and at least it's not a million yen or something. And as long as I don't feel like having a heart attack wearing this everyday so....I love it." He stubbornly admitted.

Seijuurou beamed, relieved that his mate accepted his wedding band. "I'm relieved. By the way, have you seen what is written on your ring? I haven't had time to read what is on my own as well."

Seijuurou had been in charge of the design of their wedding bands, but the couple both decided to put engravings on the other's ring, keeping their message to the other a secret until their wedding day.

Kouki's eyes lit up as he took his ring off and tilted his ring towards where it could catch some light to show what was written on the inside. Seeing the words, the omega read, "'Eternally, my absolute love'. Oh, Sei..." Kouki teared up, loving the alpha's words for him.

"'My Sei, forever and always'. Your words are beautiful Kouki." Seijuurou complimented, feeling warm from the omega's words on his ring.

The couple slipped their rings on their respective husband's fingers again and shared a few more kisses, letting the other know, not through their words but actions, on how much they loved one another.

Pulling away, Kouki snuggled up to his mate as the alpha reached his arm around his husband in a protective and possessive manner.

They leaned against each other on their swing, watching the full moon shining brightly in the dark night, surrounded by the twinkling stars scattered above, painting the sky with light and wonder.

Today was the start of the rest of their lives....as one, together.


	26. Chapter 26

## A Mug Of Green Tea Hot Chocolate

_About 2 years ago...._

Kouki's cheeks were flushed and his eyes were hooded as he stared up at his boyfriend.

Seijuurou, who the omega had never seen as anything less than his usual well-kempt and proper appearance, looked nothing like that now. His nude body glistened in sweat and covered in scratches, lips reddened and swollen, hair a mess from being yanked on and his darkened red eyes were looking down at him full of hunger and desire.

His alpha never looked more handsome than he did right now.

Kouki let out another moan when Seijuurou stole his lips once more, at the same time grinding their bare lower halves closely with a thick substance from their earlier releases gluing them together, almost uncomfortably but the brunette wouldn't have had it any other way.

Their tongues tangled together in an almost dance, lips melded as the breaths between them were shared.

He could feel the alpha's hands roam around his chest, making him give out a mewling sound as he felt his nipples being played with, pinched at mercilessly.

Seijuurou let out a growling sound deep in his throat when the omega retaliated by roaming his own hands over the alpha's buttocks, sliding his palms to the front and giving the redhead's engorged erection a light teasing touch.

They pulled back once more and stared at each other, both pairs of eyes dilated as they panted hard.

Seijuurou broke their eye contact for a second to look down between their bodies before looking up again, straight into his boyfriend's beautifully wide chocolate eyes.

"Kouki, I do not think I can endure anymore." The alpha admitted, bringing their groins together once more to show the other just how much he wanted of the omega right then. They had been in the throes of foreplay that seemed to last for hours, but now both men felt themselves ready for the main act.

"I know that we have already discussed this many times before, but I need to ask you one more time. Are you sure you want to bond with me, Kouki? Are you truly alright with losing our virginities together and becoming bond mates for life?" He asked, his voice gentle.

The two had been talking about bonding for a while and they both had thought long and hard about everything that being mates would entail. They had spent weeks preparing themselves for any consequences and the act itself for doing so.

Even seeing each other naked for the first time had made Kouki almost back out if Seijuurou hadn't calmed him down first...before exciting him right back up again.

Kouki took a deep breath, brown eyes never once leaving red eyes, as he tugged his boyfriend down until both their noses were nearly touching. The omega exuded his pheromones, washing them both in his sweet scent that was full of want and love.

Then, he grinned.

"I love and want you, Sei. Make me yours...my alpha."

That was all it took to make Seijuurou lose control.

Clashing their lips together, a metallic taste mixing together with the sweetness, rough hands clutching his hips as the omega felt something thick and hot push into him, stretching him wide and filling him up to the brim.

His lips freed once more, the omega couldn't even catch his breath as he suddenly felt an excruciating stinging of teeth sink straight into his neck.

Kouki pierced his nails into his alpha's back and screamed.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_Present time..._

After finally getting married the day before, Kouki and Seijuurou had spent the rest of their wedding night sleeping and made sure they were well-rested for the next day before departing for their honeymoon.

They left the day after their wedding to catch their flight heading to Bangkok, Thailand at around 6p.m. Thailand was not their final destination, as Seijuurou informed his omega that they would only be stopping over.

During the 7-8 hour flight, the newlyweds spent most of the flight relaxing, enjoying some of the first class amenities like all the exquisite food and the movies that just came out in theatres.

And like they usually do on every long flight they've been on together, either Kouki or Seijuurou would go over to the other's seat (the first class seats on JAL were huge and they had separators to give each passenger privacy) and then they would share the seat and cuddle.

The newlyweds would either start conversing softly, watch movies or just sleep together. They were like this pretty much the whole flight- only going back to their own seats for departures, landings and meal times.

When they arrived in Bangkok, Seijuurou told the omega that they would need to stay overnight since their next flight was in the morning. Kouki readily agreed as he had seen the time and realized that it was already 11:40p.m. in Thailand.

The two stayed at the [Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok](https://bangkok.grand.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html), executive suite, of course. Since they were both still stuffed from all the food on the airplane (Kouki knew that he would never be able to stand an economy flight ever again, not after being so spoiled in first class) and it was nearing midnight, they decided to just go to bed for the night.

They slept in the next morning, still tired from the past hectic months and also they wanted to be well-rested for when they would arrive at their final destination.

They had a late breakfast (probably considered a brunch) using room service- they were feeling too lazy to leave their room. But the breakfast that was brought up to them was delicious- they had gotten western breakfasts of omelets and sausages, but since they were in Thailand, they also added a bowl of one of Thailand's most popular breakfasts- Jok ( โจ๊ก -a congee with pork, egg, ginger and green onions).

After their meals, they headed back to the airport where they waited to board for their next flight. Kouki had looked at the name of their destination with a bit of confusion, not recognizing the name Malé but decided to just go with it and not ask any questions, wanting to be surprised.

Their second flight was shorter- only about four and a half hours. During this time, Kouki stared out the window, trying to figure out where they were heading to.

The omega was shocked when he saw that the island they were landing on was so small that it seemed that the only thing that fit on the tiny land area was the airport itself and nothing else.

When they finally landed, Kouki checked the time and noticed that the time difference between Malé and Tokyo were only four hours apart (Tokyo being ahead). He realized that at least they wouldn't suffer from too bad of jet lag.

Looking at the welcome sign in the airport, Kouki read, "'Welcome to Maldives'. Maldives? But I thought this was Malé?" He muttered, trying to remember where he had heard the name Maldives before.

Seijuurou heard him and replied, "Malé, Maldives would be the equivalent to Tokyo, Japan." He told his mate gently.

"Ah...I get it now." The omega nodded, looking away from the sign as they headed off to retrieve their baggage.

There was a speedboat waiting for them when they exited the airport while Kouki looked around them, amazed that it seemed that the airport was truly the only thing on the tiny island and everything else was just surrounded by the ocean.

"Where are we going?" Kouki wondered to himself as he followed his husband where they were then greeted warmly by a small group of people waiting for them in front of their speedboat.

"Akashi Seijuurou and Akashi Kouki?" The guy standing in the middle who looked to be the one in charge asked them, smiling warmly.

When Seijuurou affirmed that it was them, the guy grinned as he and the small group beside him bowed. "We've been awaiting your arrivals. Please let me be the first to welcome you both to Maldives! I will be your personal butler for your entire stay here, Mr. Friday, and it is our pleasure to finally have you here. We will strive to make sure you will both have a lovely time during your stays. And may I humbly add, Congratulations on your marriage and may you both have a wonderful honeymoon with us."

The beta man greeted them in accented but fluent English, smiling brightly at the couple as he steered them towards the speedboat and helped them into their lifejackets while the rest of the group handled the pair's bags and went to start up the boat.

"Thank you, Mr. Friday." Kouki said carefully in English, mentally thanking his husband and father-in-law for making him take after school English lessons during his second year of high school. He wasn't perfect, but his English was sufficient.

"Thank you. If I may I ask, is Mr. Friday your real name?" Seijuurou questioned, the redhead's English very fluent, of course.

Mr. Friday smiled, "My real name is Ahmed but you may call me however you may like."

"I'll call you Mr. Friday then- it sounds kinda James Bond-ish." Kouki beamed, thanking a female employee who handed the couple some warm face towels to help freshen them up. Unlike most speedboats with seats or chairs, their boat (actually, it was more closer to a luxury yacht) had small beds with some of the most fluffiest pillows for Kouki to rest upon.

"Please feel free to do so, Mr. Kouki." Mr. Friday nodded.

Kouki and Seijuurou gently wiped up the each other's faces, the omega giggling when the redhead rubbed his towel on the brunette's collarbone as the speedboat started to take off.

Mr. Friday poured them some exotic ginger drinks (nonalcoholic) into champagne glasses while another employee brought them a platter small treats for them to nibble on. The butler informed them that the ginger drink was good for riding of any sickness or dizziness they may be feeling from their trip.

Kouki watched as the speedboat brought them around the islands, with Mr. Friday giving them a tour and explaining what and where everything was.

Maldives was located in the Indian Ocean (which was a brilliant clear turquoise color) and was apparently made up of a lot of little islands. But what astounded Kouki was how every resort had their own island.

"Most guests choose us for their vacation destination due to the secluded and private island getaway that only Maldives can offer." Mr. Friday explained to them.

Kouki looked at his husband with wide eyes. "Wait...so for our honeymoon, you brought us to our own private island?" He asked, finally understanding why the alpha had chosen that place for their honeymoon.

Seijuurou grinned and gave a small squeeze to the omega's waist. "Exactly. Do you like it, Kouki?" He asked, a little nervous since he had spent countless hours researching the perfect place to stay with his new husband for their three-week getaway.

Kouki grinned as he gave his mate a giant hug. "Of course! I love it, Sei." And he did- after the past months busy with exams, basketball tournaments, graduation, wedding planning and preparing for their upcoming college years, well, something relaxing and far from Japan was exactly what they both needed.

During their tour, Mr. Friday handed them two fabric sacks with the words, 'No News No Shoes' on it.

"We have but one philosophy here. Leave your worries at home. So that means we would like you to spend your entire stay here barefoot- this will help you get a better feeling and connection with Mother Nautre." Mr. Friday informed them. "This is a place of positive energy, and nothing is ever going to change that. So kick back, relax, and forget everything but the gentle, warm breeze embracing you."

"I can't remember the last time I've ever walked around barefoot." Kouki admitted as he placed his shoes and socks into the bag.

"I do not recall ever had." Seijuurou pointed out, making Kouki giggle since he doubted his mate walked around any of his mansions without shoes neither.

After almost twenty minutes, the boat neared one of the larger islands, where their butler raised his hand towards it. "And here we are at Maldive's highly-recommended resort, [Gili Lankanfushi](http://www.gili-lankanfushi.com/)." He announced.

"Gil Lansushi?" The brunette repeated, making both the butler and his husband chuckle at the brunette's cute mistake.

"Gili Lankanfushi." Seijuurou told him gently, slowly stretching out the syllables. "That is the name of the resort we will be staying at."

Kouki blushed and gave them a sheepish smile. "Oops. Okay!"

Mr. Friday pointed out to them the different villas and overwater bungalows that were available in the resort. From the lagoon villas to the crusoe residences, it gave the place a less crowded and more spacious feel.

Finally, the boat headed towards the last villa- larger than the previous ones they've passed by and located far out in the distance, giving it more privacy and exclusivity.

"And here we are. May I welcome you to your home for the next three weeks of your stay. Welcome to the world's most largest overwater villa and the most expansive, exclusive and private villa at our resort, The Private Reserve." Mr. Friday welcomed them.

The [The Private Reserve](https://www.dreamingofmaldives.com/maldives-blog/wp-content/uploads/gili-lankanfushi-maldives-world-largest-villa-new-pool.jpg) was literally described as a decadent private palace sitting atop a sapphire lagoon.

It was HUGE and completely breathtaking. It may not seem like much at first glance, but the more closer the boat got to the dock, the more jaw-dropping it truly was.

As the boat stopped, Mr. Friday urged the couple to come off and Kouki found himself looking at the entrance as his alpha helped him off the boat.

Holding hands, the couple followed Mr. Friday as the butler gave them a tour around their new home for the three weeks as their bags were put away to their room by the rest of the employees.

The reserve had a very rustic style to it. They could actually smell the scent of wood as they walked across the floors. The furniture was made of high-quality wood and all the fabrics were in natural colors. This style tied together perfectly with the sea.

The total area of the reserve was 1,700 sqm. The luxuriously appointed living space was located in the middle of a turquoise blue lagoon. It had uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean.

They were shown the Infinity Pool on upper sun deck. There was 1 master en-suite bedroom, 1 duplex master suite with 2 bedrooms and 1 guest room with en-suite bathroom. Apparently families, large groups or celebrities usually stayed here, but it was Kouki and Seijuurou that got to stay here now.

All bedrooms, spa, master suite and indoor relaxation areas are air-conditioned, but the weather was quite sunny and breezy, so it wasn't like it was needed for them to use right now.

And each room had a cute foot wiper that Kouki dubbed as, Mr. hedgehog, that they could use to wipe off the sand or dirt from their feet to make sure they kept the rest of the house clean and tidy.

There were private indoor and outdoor relaxation areas and sun decks. A large central open plan living area with sea garden, natural coral pool, surrounding viewing/sun decks, dining area, writing desks and daybeds were also shown for them to use.

There was also two unique open-air 100 sqm private bathrooms with separate glass shower enclosure for them to bathe in (but Kouki had a feeling that he and his husband would be sharing most, if not all of their baths during their honeymoon).

Each master suite had a relaxing 2-person bathtub (which was perfect) built over coral gardens. The private couple’s spa with sauna, steam room, indoor and outdoor treatment pavilion was also there. And an air conditioned gym was on the second floor in case they wanted to make sure they wouldn't turn into squishy blobs by the end of their honeymoon.

There was a private cinema on the second floor, but Mr. Friday also informed them that he could also use the resort's popular jungle cinema located in the main island, for them to enjoy. Apparently, Seijuurou had requested a few movies for them in case they wanted to watch something during their stay.

A water slide was installed from the top deck leading into the private lagoon swimming area (though the brunette questioned what was the point of having a swimming area when they were already surrounded by an entire ocean).

The roof top terraces with daybeds and two outdoor dining pavilions were above and sea level sundecks with sun loungers offered direct access into crystal clear coral gardens and amazing marine life- their butler assured them that the sea creatures there were all friendly.

They even had their own kitchen in case they wanted to cook for themselves- although Mr. Friday informed them that the resort had high class restaurants and a daily buffet that they could enjoy.

And in case the couple started to get techno-starved, the welcome room doubled up as a business lounge equipped with a laptop and printer. They also were offered the latest audio visual and had Wi-Fi available if they really needed it (which was a relief to the couple because in their day and age, it would be difficult going without the internet for three weeks).

Personal, easy-to-use motorised transfer boats were exclusive to them. Alternatively Mr. Friday informed them that he would captain and transport them whenever they would like. He also assured them that he was on call 24 hours and on Seijuurou's request, he would also be housed in his own private quarters on the reserve- but his room would still be far from them and the villa was so large that the couple would still have plenty of privacy to them.

Back at the entrance, Mr. Friday handed them a device that they could use in order to call him for whatever they needed. He insisted that they do not need to be shy about calling him for whatever reason they may have.

With a final bow, Mr. Friday finally left the couple to enjoy their new vacation home by themselves.

With his new husband's arms around him, Kouki stared out at the ocean, finally letting yesterday's events sink in.

"We're really married." The brunette sighed, leaning into the other's embrace.

Seijuurou hummed, as he rested his chin on the omega's shoulder. "Yes we are." He agreed.

Kouki blushed, the realization of being Akashi Seijuurou's husband making him feel shy but elated at the same time. "I love you, Sei."

Feeling a kiss on his neck, Seijuurou murmured. "I love you too, Kouki."

The couple stayed where they were for a few more minutes before finally deciding to go inside.

"Sei!" Kouki screeched, giggling as he was caught off guard when the redhead suddenly lifted him up into his arms and carried him over the threshold.

"I had to do it, love. It is a tradition." Seijuurou grinned wildly, before bringing their lips together to share their first kiss in their villa.

Seijuurou settled his husband down when they were inside and Kouki immediately headed towards the dining table, remembering something he had spotted earlier on their tour.

Waiting for them was the resort's welcoming amenity for honeymooners. There was a small card that read the names of the treats that was artfully laid out for them- goat cheese praline with walnuts and melon, seared local tuna with katta sambal, coconut, crème fraiche and curry leaf, delicious dates, a bottle of sparkling cider and a bottle of ice cold water.

But what caught the omega's eye was the mini chocolate mousse cake topped with fruits and chocolate pieces with the words 'Happy Honeymoon' written in chocolate syrup on the plate.

Taking the plated cake and a fork, Kouki brought it to where Seijuurou was looking down at the glass-floors showing off the marine life. Taking a piece of cake on his fork, Kouki brought it up to the alpha's lips saying, "Ahh..."

Seijuurou chuckled but obdiently opened his mouth and let the other feed him the cake. Taking a bite for himself, Kouki moaned at how delicious and densely chocolatey it was. "This is amazing!" He complimented.

The redhead nodded in agreement as he let the other feed him another bite.

The couple snacked on the rest of their treats before leaving the leftovers back on the table where Mr. Friday would most likely put away later on.

The couple explored the house a bit more before deciding to visit their bedroom to look at where exactly they would be sleeping at.

It was spacious with a large king sized bed and the room was so open- there was see-through glass windows and doors. Thankfully, they were far away from the other guests and islands so Kouki wasn't worried about being caught or watched by others. Even though the entire room was open, the couple was truly alone.

"We're definitely not in Japan anymore." Kouki sighed happily as he dived into the soft, white sheets of their bed.

Seijuurou chuckled as he opened the wide doors that lead straight to the ocean itself. Another thing the couple had noticed was there were no mosquitos or bugs around like you would usually expect from an island (Mr. Friday had told them it was due to the season and if it were the rainy season, the resort provided plenty of mosquito netting so it wouldn't be a problem).

"That would be the point." The redhead replied, laying on the bed next to his husband where they cuddled up together, enjoying the waves and the fresh ocean breeze.

Kouki sighed as he could feel himself relaxing on the bed, almost falling asleep- that was how comfortable it was.

But a moment later, the omega soon found a hand sneakily making its way under his shirt, caressing his waist gently.

With wide eyes, he turned and met directly with his husband's red eyes that were now darkened in lust. And he was also aware of the heightened pheromones the alpha was giving off as he leaned forward to bring their faces close.

With a warm blush painting across his cheeks, Kouki felt his heart thumping, sound deafening as the hand underneath his shirt slowly made its way downwards. "Sei..." He whispered, feeling himself tightened as the hand slipped underneath his waistband.

"You have no idea how overjoyed I am that you are legally all mine now, Kouki." Seijuurou crooned, making Kouki gasp as he felt the other hand cup over his growing erection. "I have been looking forward to our honeymoon for months."

Kouki brought his hand up to roam over his husband's firm and leanly muscled chest, eyes widening as he felt the other's heart beating just as quick as he knew his own was. With a fond smile, he brought his hand up to softly cup over the other's cheek.

Leaning up slightly, Kouki pressed his lips gently to his husband's for a moment or two before pulling away to whisper into the other's ear. "Me too, Sei. For being married, for being a true Akashi...I love it all. And I love you more than anything."

Seijuurou buried his face into the omega's neck. Kouki grinned as he could feel the heat coming from his mate's face. And even though he wanted to see the redhead's rare blush, Kouki merely held onto his new husband, letting the two soak in their newly martial status.

Finally, Seijuurou pulled away and his face was no longer red. Kouki breath stopped as his husband smirked at him, exuding his alpha scent throughout the whole room and making sure Kouki was fully saturated in his spicy cinnamon scent, throughly marking the brunette as his.

Grinning when the omega gave a loud moan when his mate lightly pinched one of his sensitive nipples, Seijuurou moved his face closer to the other and told him, "Shall we begin our honeymoon night? Or even a whole day?" The other asked playfully, unbuttoning the the brunette's shorts as he spoke.

Kouki lifted up his bottom to let the alpha easily slip off both his shorts and underwear in one go. With a cheeky smile of his own, Kouki began to exude his own sweet marshmallowy scent into the air, making it mix perfectly with his alpha's spice.

Slowly spreading his legs apart and grinning at the hungry look in his husband's eyes as the alpha looked at exactly what the omega was offering him, Kouki replied, "We have the whole three weeks...and I'm willing to give everything I have. So...please take me, Sei." He whispered his husband's name at the end.

And that was all it took for the couple to lose all sense and finally get down to business to do exactly what they had been anticipating for their honeymoon.

The couple were swallowing each other, their lips nipping and licking at every place they could reach as their naked bodies melded perfectly as one.

"Sei....ahhhh....!" Kouki groaned when he felt Seijuurou's cock rubbing against his own, spreading their cum all over their lower halves. The brunette could feel his slick dripping out of him, smearing onto his husband and bedsheets. And the smell of their arousal was evident in the air, driving them both mad.

"Kouki....hah.... I don't think I can go slow right now." Seijuurou admitted, almost humping into the other's hips, his cock dripping with precum. They had both waited for many hours and now they could not hold themselves any longer.

The brunette shook his head and opened his legs wider, reaching down and grabbing the other's erected member in his hand, making the redhead gasp loudly, biting down near the omega's bond mark.

Kouki moaned at the bite and blinked a few times, needing a few seconds refocus his mind again before he could say, "We can go slow in the next round....Ohhh, Sei. Yes! There!" He nearly screamed when his alpha's fingers dove right into him and quickly hit his prostate. "We waited too long and I want you now." He demanded, his tone possessive.

Not waiting for the other's reply, Kouki pulled his husband's fingers out of him before immediately taking hold of Seijuurou's cock and directed it right inside of him, making them both gasp and groan as the alpha entered him slowly.

Thankfully, Kouki's body was so in sync with Seijuurou's, so even with no prior foreplay, the omega was still able to stretch open and accommodate the other inside him. And since he was also an omega, his slick made for a great lubricant so there was very little to no pain as the redhead entered him inch by aching inch.

"You're very warm, love. It feels amazing." Seijuurou crooned to him, making Kouki flush in delight.

Seijuurou held onto the other's hips as he began to pound into the brunette, making sure to go slow at first before speeding up the tempo faster and faster.

Kouki panted and moaned alternatively as his nails dug into the bedsheets, feeling Seijuurou pull away from him until he was almost slipping out before pushing forward in one go to fill him up to the brim of fullness, hard and fast.

Seiuurou took a harsh breath when Kouki grabbed his shoulders and not too lightly sunk his teeth right into the alpha's neck, directly onto his bond mark. The ecstasy from that act just egged Seijuurou on, making him thrust even faster.

Tiny screams ripped out of Kouki's throat, his mouth still occupied as his alpha pounded into him over and over, hitting his prostate every single time. And in response, Kouki tightened up his inner walls, squeezing out a loud shout by Seijuurou from the delicious tightness.

As they neared completion, Seijuurou leaned down and bit down into his omega's neck once more, but this time it was directly onto his bond mark.

They both released loud grunts/screams, their mouths latched into each other as they came, spurting hard. Seijuurou filled Kouki with his semen while Kouki sprayed his own seed all over, covering them both and the sheets.

As they came down from their high, Kouki licked the small trickle of blood that dripped down from his bite while Seijuurou left kisses and sucks on the omega's neck, jaw and chest, admiring the beautiful bruise that his own mark left.

With Seijuurou still inside him, they both kissed, nipping at each other's lips and sucking on tongues, playfully fighting over dominance of who would take control over their kiss.

Kouki then squeaked, pulling away with a string of spit connecting them as he raised a knowing eyebrow at his husband. With the alpha still seated inside of him, the brunette could clearly feel the other hardening again.

Seijuurou grinned at him innocently as he pushed up his hips, making the omega gasp at the movement. "Ready for round two, my Kouki?" He asked playfully.

Kouki giggled as he tightened up his body, his hole clenching onto his alpha's ready erection. Now he was the one grinning as the redhead gave a loud moan at the tight feeling. "I'm ready for round two, three, four, five, si-ahhhhhhh...." And with a loud drawn out moan, the couple were at it again.

But this time they went more slower, their movements no longer frantic as the first time.

They shared long, leisure kisses, teasing bites and licks as Seijuurou gently pushed in and out of the omega at a slow pace rhythm.

"Sei..." Kouki rubbed his once again erected member on the other's belly and made a mewling sound when his alpha took hold of him.

Pulling the other into another kiss, Seijuurou held the omega and slowly pulled and twisted his hand all over the other's cock. The redhead grinned when at a particular squeeze made Kouki give a shout, dripping some of his warm precum onto the alpha's hand.

Making sure to keep his gaze on the other, Seijuurou brought his hand up and languidly licked the cum off.

Kouki felt his arousal grow, watching his husband lick up his essence. He himself pushed out his scent more so the alpha could smell exactly just how turned on the omega was right now.

With soft touches and gentle embraces, the pair climaxed together for a second time.

Holding his omega in his arms, Seijuurou touched the supple flesh of his husband's bottom while Kouki nuzzled himself into the redhead's cheek and neck.

Chuckling as he felt his mate give him a nip under his jaw, Seijuurou sighed in contentment.

Because that was what he was feeling at this moment. Laying in bed with his new husband and bond mate, covered in both their satisfying releases as he gazed between the breathtaking sight of his Kouki and the beautiful scenery of the sparkling ocean and waves through the open doors before them.

Seijuurou was filled with absolute contentment.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Haha...stop...!" Kouki giggled, squirming away from his husband's seeking hands.

Seijuurou only grinned as he easily caught hold of the omega and brought Kouki onto his lap as he gently pulled their faces together to share another kiss. He gave a booming laugh at the loud squeal Kouki let out when the alpha gave the other's butt a good squeeze.

And of course, Kouki made sure to give Seijuurou's firm bottom a few good squeezes in retaliation.

From the first day they arrived, the newlywed's had continued to make love for almost four days in a row, completely satisfied on focusing solely on themselves and only interested in exploring every inch of the other's body and what sounds they could make their spouses release.

Of course, they did take breaks in between making love to eat, sleep, and shower together (they would have died otherwise). But they didn't leave their love nest at all during those four days.

Kouki still wasn't sure how Seijuurou did it, but the alpha managed to send messages to Mr. Friday whenever it was time to bring in their meals (Seijuurou made sure the butler wouldn't come anywhere near their room and wouldn't hear and sense a single thing from them).

And when they went to take their showers or went skinny dipping in the ocean, by the time they returned to their bedroom, everything was cleaned, changed and the room itself was air out with a nice lemongrass scent in the air.

So other than bathing, the couple only left their bed to go to the dining room that was located right outside and easily accessible.

The meals that were brought out to them were of course dishes that looked tropical and tasted like it came from a five-star restaurant. From tropical fruits to the freshest seafood and fish, everything was scrumptious.

At one time, Seijuurou had raised an eyebrow at his husband's choice of meal when the omega had made a request.

"We are on our honeymoon for a private island getaway and out of all the high class cuisines you could ask for, you ask for a burger and french fries?" Seijuurou said flatly, looking at his husband with disbelief.

Kouki only shrugged as he took a bite of his burger. The burger was delicious of course with the patty medium rare and juicy, the fries cut thick and cooked until crispy, and his meal even came with a can of soda that even with it being in a different language, based on the red and white color of the can, the omega knew it was cola.

"This just makes everything more unbelievable, Sei. I mean, how many people can have their own private island and eat a good burger with fries and soda in bed while overlooking a sparkling ocean that's only for them?" The omega pointed out. Bringing his burger up to his mate, Kouki beamed up at him with his wide shining eyes. "Now, say ahh Sei! I know you want to try some." He urged.

The redhead chuckled but indeed took a healthy bite of the burger. The alpha admitted that the burger was quite delicious, and gifted his husband a fond smile with a peck on his lips.

After they ate, the couple would go to their own open-air shower to wash up- or even continue their previous activities there; they found out that the wood or whatever the villa was made up of was pretty durable and didn't break under the weight of them or no matter how much Seijuurou had pounded Kouki against the shower walls.

And speaking of durability, even in the dining lounge, the glass floor was just as durable and sturdy- not cracking even when Kouki went down on Seijuurou, almost jumping up and down as he took the alpha inside him.

With an entire private villa to themselves, there was no doubt that the newlyweds were going to take advantage of every single inch of the place to their heart's contents.

When their bodies were finally sated (for now) they finally decided it was time for them to venture outside of their bedroom.

The first thing they decided to do was to try out the resort's Meera Spa. Mr.Friday, who had showed up as soon as Seijuurou had called for him, recommended that they try out the spa.

With a wink, the butler informed them that most guests usually went for the spa to soothe their tired bodies from jet lag or after partaking in certain strenuous activities.

Mr. Friday chuckled when Kouki blushed a hot red at that while Seijuurou only grinned.

They first headed off to the sauna and steam room so they could soften their bodies a bit before the treatment.

In a steamy and closed-off room, their scents became wild and Seijuurou couldn't help but fondle and make out a little with Kouki (not that the omega complained or anything).

And of course, they both soon learned an important lesson that one should never do sexual acts in a sauna... because it runs the high risk that somebody will pass out from overheating.

Thankfully, Seijuurou managed to carry his disoriented husband out of the room in time, with Mr. Friday coming in a few minutes later with the resort's rejuvenating ginger drink and plenty of cold, refreshing towels.

Because their villa had its own spa room, Mr. Friday sent for masseuses. Two ladies were waiting, smiling when the couple finally arrived with Kouki revived and lively once more.

The newlyweds looked through the menu and they both agreed on trying the Ocean Therapy. This uses flower petals, organic herbs, and earth clays to heal and nurture skin. The soothing essential oils of Sodashi that they also put on made the couple's skin glow very nicely.

Feeling more refreshed and invigorated than he had in months, Kouki stretched his body up happily as the couple walked down to the main lounge.

"Wow, my skin is so smooth- I can't remember the last time I felt like this!" Kouki was in awe as he ran his hand over chest, feeling how soft he felt. He then turned to run both his hands all over his husband's back and chest. "You feel soft too, Sei!" He cheered.

Seijuurou chuckled as he caught one of his omega's hands and placed a soft kiss on it. "Kouki, I must warn you that if you keep touching me like you are now, well..." He trailed off, looking at the other with darkened eyes.

Kouki blushed but poked the other's cheek with his free hand, giggling when the unexpected action had caught the redhead off guard. "We arrived to this villa about four or five days ago and are just exploring this place now! Besides, you promised me that we could watch that red turtle movie tonight!" He reminded the other.

Seijuurou kissed the the omega's pouting lips as he nodded, bringing his arm around the other's waist to pull him in closer. "Yes, I did promise that and I intend to keep it. Shall we go and watch it now?"

Excited, Kouki nodded and the two went towards the villa's private cinema where Mr. Friday was waiting for them (Kouki was still wondering when Seijuurou had called for the man since he hadn't seen his husband actually bring a phone or anything along).

There was a big white screen and a projector that would project their movie of choosing. All the movies that were up for selection were all choices that the resort had taken based on what Seijuurou had requested for.

There was a bedding pad that was so soft and wide that the couple could either sit or lie down comfortably in. And there was a great number of soft pillows and blankets provided for them.

Plus of course, for their movie Mr. Friday prepared for them buttered and caramel popcorn, cut up tropical fruits, canapès, and chilled bowls of ice cream.

There were also some of their famous chocolates from the Underground wine cellar- these chocolates were infused with chili, mango, coconut, coriander and other wild flavors.

And to Kouki's surprise and delight, Mr. Friday was informed by a mysterious source that the omega was a fan of anything with green tea in it. So their butler got the head chef to whip the couple up some mugs of green tea hot chocolate.

The butler turned out the lights- but the fire coming from the lanterns that aligned the floor gave everything a romantic feeling- and started the movie before he left the newlyweds to enjoy their viewing.

The couple snuggled together under the cozy blanket, feeding each other the small treats as they enjoyed the movie together.

"Mm, this is so yummy!" Kouki exclaimed, taking a sip of his warm and creamy drink.

The hot chocolate green tea drink was actually colored a bright green. The chef had used white chocolate instead of the usual milk chocolate so that the green tea color would show more.

The warm frothy drink was topped with a bit of whip cream and mini marshmallows that were all floating inside. The drink tasted delicious and the herbal green tea flavor actually came out and mixed nicely with the very sweet white chocolate.

Seijuurou chuckled when he saw the little chocolate mustache his husband was sporting. "Oh, you have a little something here. Let me get it for you, love." Leaning forward, he gently wiped it away with a cloth napkin.

Flushing, Kouki gave the other a peck on the cheek in thanks. "Hehe, how embarrassing." He giggled shyly.

At the end of the movie, both guys were distracted, not knowing that the movie was no longer playing as they were in the middle of a deep make out session.

Being surrounded by such a romantic setting brought up that certain mood once more and the couple happily began to make love right there, on the very soft mattress that just seemed to mold around their moving bodies quite nicely.

They ended up falling asleep right there, cuddled together in their thick blankets, surrounded by the open sky filled with many twinkling stars around them.

And in the morning, Kouki blushed again and swatted his husband who was laughing at him when the omega noticed that a certain someone had come by last night to clean everything up and most likely had seen the naked two as well.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"We're in a hammock..." Kouki made swirling circles on his husband's abs as they cuddled together in their hammock.

"Mmn..." Seijuurou yawned as he ran his hand over his omega's soft, brown locks.

"We're in a hammock...in the middle of the ocean..." Kouki now widened his swirls to include the other's chest and right arm as well.

"Mmn..." Seijuurou tilted his head to the left, giving the brunette access to make swirls on the side of his neck too.

"We're in a hammock...in the middle of the ocean...naked." Kouki leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the redhead's bicep, looking up at his husband from underneath his eyelashes, slowly blinking his wide brown eyes.

"Mmn...and now because we're in a hammock in the middle of the ocean, naked together, we must take advantage of this opportunity, hm?" And with a sly grin, Seijuurou proceeded to cover his husband's body with his own.

Not for the first time (and definitely not for the last neither) the couple began to make love in their hammock, in the outdoors surrounded by nothing but the wide open sea around them.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

The newlyweds didn't spend their entire honeymoon making love.

Though they did have a lot of fun trying out all sorts of positions as they christened pretty much every room and square inch of their villa.

This includes an interesting experience of trying to have sex on their villa's waterslide. Balancing on top the slide, trying not to slide down though Kouki was going 'down' on Seijuurou at the same time. All in all, at climax they ended up in the water anyway and the cold water rush became a fond memory.

Anyway, when the couple got bored from staying in all the time and wanted to go out, their butler would advised them for some of the recommended activities that the resort provided.

Mr. Friday provided them with bamboo bikes where they both got to ride around the main island, exploring the main resort itself.

They met with the one of the resort's personal chefs who showed them the resort's Organic Garden that was where the chefs would harvest their fresh vegetables to use for their dishes.

The couple enjoyed the crisp salads, sliced fruits, freshly baked breads and the local favorite, roshi and mas huni, that their chef had prepared for them for breakfast.

They enjoyed their light breakfast at the 360°- an elevated dining area in the Organic Garden where they enjoyed the stunning 360 degree sea and garden views. And their table was carefully positioned to make the most of natural breezes but also give them absolute privacy as they watched the sun rise together.

After breakfast, the couple began to try out some of the water activities that were recommended.

"Sei, are you sure this is your first time surfing?" Kouki questioned his husband again, watching with amazement as the redhead rode out a large wave smoothly.

Seijuurou paddled towards him, giving him a wide grin. "Of course- I have never had the opportunity to try this before."

Kouki shouldn't have been surprised that the other was just instantly good at something he had never tried before.

But unlike the redhead, Kouki barely managed to stand on his surfboard for more than ten seconds. He even managed to make his husband snort when the brunette fell on his butt right atop the board before falling over completely.

But Kouki did get the last laugh when he brought down his alpha along with them, bringing them both underwater with all the little fishes swimming around.

After surfing, they tried out other watersport activities.

Being guided by a marine biologist and experienced divers, the couple held hands as they dived under the waters, swimming through the coral reefs amongst the vast marine life- some turtles, stingrays and plenty of tropical fishes.

Kouki giggled when a baby fish tickled his nose, making Seijuurou look at his husband with eyes brimming with happiness at seeing his husband enjoying himself.

The newlyweds tried out windsurfing and fortunately, Kouki was better at this than regular surfing.

From waterskiing to parasailing to paddle-boarding and snorkeling, the couple were excited to try out every sport that the resort could provide.

When they got got tried and took breaks from all the active sports, Kouki was the one to bring Seijuurou out to the dolphin cruise for something more relaxing.

"Sei! Look! This one is pink!" Kouki squealed excitedly, pointing to a rare cute pink-colored dolphin nearby.

Seijuurou watched as the omega told their driver to bring the boat closer to the dolphin.

Luckily, the pink dolphin stayed in place, as if waiting for their boat to come its way.

"You're so cute!" Kouki gushed, gently patting the dolphin's head. With his head leaning forward, the omega gasped when the dolphin caught him off guard and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Aww...." The omega cooed as the dolphin made squeaking giggly noises. Giving the water a few slaps with it's fin, the dolphin finally bid the omega goodbye as it swam away.

"Bye-bye!" Kouki waved, sighing when he felt his husband's arms circle around him, the redhead's chin resting on his shoulder.

"It's only a dolphin, Sei. There's nothing to be jealous of." The omega pointed out.

"I'm not jealous." Seijuurou assured him, leaving a light kiss on the other's cheek, on the exact spot where the dolphin had kissed. Kouki only grinned, fully picking at the slight envy undertone in his alpha's scent right now.

They went on another cruise during their honeymoon and this one was more romantic than the playful dolphin cruise.

On the sunset dhoni cruise, one of the employees rowed the traditional dhoni boat as Seijuurou and Kouki relaxed on the cushions on the beautiful wooden boat, sipping island drinks and enjoying canapés as they gazed at each other and the sunset, sailing across the Indian Ocean.

They took off to the skies for the scenic photo flight experience. They got to experience the true beauty of the Maldives from a seaplane where they could fly high above the spectacular atolls and captured the stunning sights on camera.

For dinner, the couple usually chose to eat their meals in their villa, choosing to eat in privacy from their many dining room choices- the lounge, outdoors under the stars, on the balcony as they watched the sunset, or even in bed where they could easily move from eating to doing certain nightly activities right after.

When they did decide to dine out, the public greatly enjoyed going to the resort's Japanese restaurant, By The Sea. The newlyweds were grateful to have some authentic Japanese cuisine during their honeymoon and the restaurant even had some of the best teppanyaki Kouki had ever tasted.

There were also buffets that the couple would drop by once or twice and each time they visited, there was a different theme to the menu. The couple both enjoyed Asian market and the Indian night themes.

And the dining areas that Mr. Friday had set up for them- amongst pillows and candles on the sand, or on a table surrounded by lit lanterns that were shaped around them in a heart... the newlyweds enjoyed it all.

But one of Kouki's most favorite places that they had gone out for dinner was the Jungle Cinema.

Even though their private cinema had its own charms and advantages (they could cuddle and have sex there) here at the Jungle Cinema the newlyweds were lead down the candle-lit pathways through the foliage where they enjoyed their dinner with a movie and with only the two of them.

It was pretty cool and Kouki found himself being able to focus more on the movie they were watching this time.

"I think I still prefer our private cinema." Kouki admitted as he took a bite of his tandoori chicken. The film that was playing for them was some popular ninja movie that had just come out- Mumon: The Land of Stealth. In fact, this movie was based on one of Kouki's books that he owned, Shinobi no Kuni.

Seijuurou agreed as he took a sip of his hot chocolate (the couple enjoyed the head chef's green tea hot chocolate so much that they ordered it again and Kouki even gotten the recipe for it). "Hm. I also prefer the wonderful seating in our private cinema compared to this table." He raised an eyebrow at his mate as he said this.

Kouki giggled, a blush on his cheeks as he recalled how much those two 'enjoyed' the soft bedding at their private cinema.

But nevertheless, the couple enjoyed the rest of their movie and dinner together, surrounded by the jungle under the many stars in the sky.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Seijuurou watched as his husband popped his head out from under the ocean, smiling as his omega called out his name as he waved happily. The redhead returned his wave from where he sat in one of the lounge chairs on the sun deck.

The afternoon was the perfect weather for swimming- not too sunny and just a gentle breeze to keep the waves nice and gentle.

Seijuurou watched as his mate swam towards him and the alpha couldn't help but appreciate his mate's form as Kouki pulled himself up onto the deck, his bare body glistening in water droplets for Seijuurou's hungry eyes only.

Since they had complete privacy, the couple usually chose to forgo the option of clothing because they knew that their clothes would just come off again just as quickly and it's not like they had something that the other hadn't seen yet.

Also, it was a rare opportunity where they could live the life of a nudist, even for just a brief moment. If they had the freedom to bare themselves in front of one another in all their naked glory with no other prying eyes to see, then why not?

Kouki walked towards his equally nude husband and took a seat beside him, curling up to the other. "Why don't we swim together, Sei?" He offered, hugging himself to his alpha's side.

Seijuurou looked thoughtful as he rubbed his thumb over the other's lower hip. "Actually, I was thinking about trying out the jacuzzi on the second floor- I believe we haven't visited there yet and this would be a fitting time to do so." He suggested instead.

Kouki nodded he began to stand up. The pair made their way upstairs, with Kouki giggling as Seijuurou kept roaming his hands all over the omega's backside.

When they finally got there, the jacuzzi was somehow already turned on with rose petals sprinkled around the bubbling bath.

"Oh, this is much better." Kouki sighed loudly, holding his husband's hand as they both sinked deeper into the bubbling bath. Although the ocean was beautiful, the jacuzzi was brought up to a warm temperature and the bubbles had felt nice on their bodies.

Seijuurou closed his eye and took a deep breath, relaxing as he had an arm around his mate. Kouki leaned against his husband and rested his head on the other's shoulder as he playfully swirled his hands around in the water.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the company of each other with the nice warm feeling of water.

At the verge of falling asleep, Seijuurou furrowed his eyebrows a little when he felt someone touching him somewhere on his private area.

Peeking out of one of his eyes, the alpha looked to his right and saw as his omega played with the water, smiling when he heard the cute giggle the brunette made when he popped his bubble.

Seijuurou closed both eyes again, sighing as he relaxed further into the soothing waters.

A few minutes later, the alpha gasped and opened his eyes. This time, he had definitely felt a hand squeeze him from down there, no doubt about it.

"Kouki..." Seijuurou said warningly, directing a knowing look at the brunette, who was suddenly looking very innocent.

Kouki smiled sweetly back at he gave the redhead's thick member another squeeze, making sure to run his nails lightly around the top. He grinned wildly at the loud moan his husband let out from his action.

Seijuurou inhaled as he felt his mate move from his tip all the way down, exhaling sharply when he felt fingers start to play with his balls as well.

"Kou..." Seijuurou gawked when he felt his cock get squeezed again, his red eyes dilating as he watched the smirk playing on his mate's lips.

"Shh...just sit back and let me take care of you, Sei. Okay?" Kouki sang out as he started to move.

Seijuurou grinned; it wasn't too often that the brunette would take charge of them like this, but during those rare times that it did, the alpha made sure to give his beloved free reign while he would just sit back and enjoy the ride.

When the omega ordered him to pull himself up, Seijuurou immediately did as told. So now the redhead was sitting at the edge of the jacuzzi, with his erection poking right up directly in Kouki's view.

Kouki was now facing him, wrapping one arm behind his neck as his other hand was once again on the alpha's erection. Seijuurou smiled as he held onto the omega's hips to in case he slipped and his heart skipped when he saw Kouki giving him one of his lovely grins.

Capturing the other's lips, Kouki gave out a loud groan into their kiss. Like he anticipated, he felt his the erection in his hand stiffen and harden at the sound he made.

As he shoved his tongue into the redhead's mouth, their tongues began an intricate dance with one another as Kouki continued his administrations to his husband's member.

"Ohhhhh..." Kouki groaned when he felt fingers open up behind him, stretching his hole wide before he felt a finger slip inside of him.

"Open your legs more and hopefully your dream wedding dress for your wedding, Kouki." Seijuurou urged him, and when the brunette did, he was able to slip a second finger inside, scissoring him wide.

Kouki breathed hard as he could feel his own member tightened, but he refused to let the other take control.

Seijuurou frowned when he felt his mate release his grasp from his member. But just as he opened his mouth to say something, he suddenly held his breath when he felt Kouki's mouth go down on him instead.

"Yesss...." He hissed, feeling the other's warm mouth cover his swollen member, soft lips close around him tightly.

Kouki let out a groan of his own when he felt the fingers inside him twitch, pressing against his walls. Taking a few deep breaths, the omega focused once more and began to bob his head up and down, sliding his lips over his husband's erection.

Seijuurou panted as the omega swallowed him whole, his reddened lips touching to the very base of his cock before sliding up again until his teeth was lightly caught on the head of his penis.

"Haahh..." Seijuurou breathed loudly when Kouki gave a hard suck on his cock, closing his lips tightly around him. Looking down, the alpha nearly cursed as his husband's brown dilated eyes stared back up at him in a memorizing way, making him almost lose it.

Tasting the other's precum dripping out into his mouth, Kouki knew the other was nearing his climax soon. But he himself was also in the same position, feeling his erection harden from hearing all the groans and pants the redhead let out.

Plus, the fingers that were still burrowed himself of him just added to the brunette's pleasure, Seijuurou's skilled fingers finding his sweet spot and pressing onto it over and over, making his mind go insane.

Feeling himself tightened, getting ready to climax, Seijuurou choked out a warning to the other, "I'm about to come..."

Kouki didn't stop but continued to suck and pull even harder, urging for his alpha to release inside his mouth.

Seijuurou lasted only a few more seconds after that before letting out a loud shout into the air, clenching his hands hard as he came, coating Kouki's mouth with his cum.

Had his mouth been free, Kouki would have screamed loudly when he too came a few seconds after his mate. But instead, the omega groaned loudly as he tried swallow down his husband's semen at the same time he himself spurted out into the water below him.

Seijuurou panting, looking as some of his cum dripped down the side of Kouki's lips, the amount too much for the omega to swallow it all.

When it felt like he had sucked his husband's cock dry, Kouki finally released the used member from his lips with a loud 'pop'!

Seijuurou let out another groan as he watched his husband lick the side of his mouth, making sure not to waste a single drop of the other's juices. Finding the action very hot and sexy, Seijuurou grabbed the brunette's messy locks and pulled him into a searing and intense kiss.

Breathing hard, they both pulled away as they stared at one another.

After a moment or two, Kouki tugged his husband down into the jacuzzi and once the alpha was again beside him, he pulled himself onto the alpha's lap and stayed there.

"We can add the jacuzzi into our list of places where we've done it now." Kouki sighed happily, closing his eyes as he rested against the alpha's inviting chest.

Seijuurou chuckled softly at that as held his husband in his embrace, nuzzling into the other's neck and smiling when he heard the omega purring contentedly. The couple stayed there together as they rested their spent bodies in the warm waters.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Wow, this is just as amazing as Mr. Friday had told us it would be." Kouki exclaimed, looking down at the waters in amazement.

With their three weeks of honeymooning almost over, their butler recommended that the newlyweds visit Vaadhoo Island after dinner. Apparently there was a phenomenon there that every person who visited Maldives must witness at least once.

"It is indeed extraordinary. Well, almost as much as you, my love." Seijuurou added, laughing softly when he saw how red his husband's face turned at the compliment.

On Vaadhoo island at night, there was something called the '[Sea of Stars](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5f/fd/16/5ffd164622096cc8c3ade658d830f136.jpg)'. This was where visitors could walk or sail across the seashore which contained glowing lights that resembled actual stars inside of it.

The water on the beach really looked like a mirror for the stars and sky as it glows in blue from bio luminescence.

Actually, the ocean around the island is filled with microscopic plankton which was where the blue light originated from, but no matter what the cause of it was, the result was still the same. The Sea of Stars shows everyone the rare sight of stars glowing brightly on the ocean waters.

"But this is really pretty." Kouki pointed out, pulling his mate by the hand as they looked down at their blue-lit footprints they left behind them.

Seijuurou nodded when they straightened up again. "So Kouki, since our honeymoon will be ending in a few days, is there anything else you would like to do while we are here?" He inquired, watching his mate.

The brunette looked thoughtful for a second before shaking his head. "I can't think of anything. We have done so much already... Is there something you wanna to do, Sei?"

The redhead shook his head, but gave him a smile. "But I am sure as long as I am with you, anything will be worthwhile."

Kouki awed at that as he let himself be pulled over for a kiss. Beaming up at the other, he sighed, "I'm really gonna miss it here. It's just so quiet and it's nice that we can have our own privacy for once. And I'm gonna miss Mr. Friday too- he was so attentive to us but sometimes he came off as a ghost with how things just happened to appear at the right time." He added.

The redhead agreed. "Mr. Friday has given us such an outstanding service. If it not for the fact that he is better suited for here than in Japan, I would have already offered him a job with us." He admitted.

Kouki shook his head. "Nah, it's best that you didn't ask him- this is his home and he belongs here. This place is truly wonderful. I'm glad you took me here, Sei."

They shared another chaste kiss before Seijuurou gave his mate a loving look. "I am glad our honeymoon exceeded you expectations."

"It did. And although I do miss our friends and family, I'm really gonna miss all of this. Especially since we could be together all day, everyday here. I truly love having you here with me all to myself." He confessed.

Seijuurou brought their lips together once more as he reminded the other, "I'll always be with you, right by your side no matter where we go now or in the future." He reassured him.

"Well, yeah. We're kinda stuck with each other now- especially now that we have these." Kouki told him cheekily, holding up his ring finger and showing off the lovely ring that seemed to glow like the stars in above in the sky and the water below them.

Seijuurou laughed as he nodded his head, giving his omega's ring a kiss as well. "That indeed is correct, my Kouki. But these rings are only a symbol of our union together. But no matter what, we will always be together."

The omega gave him a fond smile as he gave his husband a hug. "Always, Sei. Even if I have to tied you down to me with a rope, we'll be together forever."

The redhead kissed his nose before quirking up one of his eyebrows. "Tie me down, you say? I do not think I would disapprove of that, to be honest."

Kouki bursted out in laughter as he lightly slapped his alpha's shoulder. "You know that's not what I meant!"

The alpha only grinned. "So should I take that as a no or a yes?"

His husband huffed, but the light blush in his cheeks and hint of arousal in his scent showed off what the omega truly thought of the notion. "Maybe when we get back." The brunette mumbled.

Kouki pouted for a bit before his smile returned and he gave a short giggle. "But see? This just proves that we'll always find something to do, whether we're in Maldives or in Tokyo, just as long as we're by each other's sides." He pointed out, getting a nod of approval from his alpha.

"Well, shall we walk further ahead and see where these underwater stars take us?" Seijuurou asked, giving their joined hands a small squeeze as the water waves gently moved around them.

Kouki smiled. "Okay."

The omega hummed to a random song as the newlyweds walked across the twinkling ocean, swinging their hands together all along the way.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

_About 2 years ago..._

Kouki's mind was racing although his body felt somewhere between death and resurrection.

Beside him, Seijuurou's body was wrapped around his own as the redhead laid on his side, touching the omega's neck.

Feeling his heartbeat finally go back to its normal tempo, Kouki turned to look at his new bond mate and felt his cheeks burn up when his eyes met with Seijuurou's.

Why hadn't anyone ever told him that aftersex would be so awkward?

Don't get him wrong, sex itself was AMAZING and he definitely planned on doing it again, and with only Seijuurou as his partner.

But afterwards? The omega was dying from embarrassment as he started to recall all the things they had just seen of one another....the things they had just said (or screamed or growled or begged for)....everything they had just touched...!

Kouki wanted to hide under the covers and stay there for the rest of his life.

But unlike the omega, Seijuurou felt no awkwardness whatsoever as he began to rub soothing circles on the omega's hip. "Are you alright, Kouki? Do you feel sore perhaps?" The alpha then proceeded to lift up the blanket they shared and went to check 'down there' to see for himself of the brunette's condition.

Kouki squeaked as he felt a finger prod his used hole, making him tightened up and slap the other on the arm. "Sei?!"

Seijuurou raised his eyebrow but removed his hand. "Why are you feeling so shy now? You were perfectly fine with me touching you there only moments ago. Pleading for me to touch you, if I recall." He pointed out.

Kouki made a strangled noise in response to that and screeched out, "Sei!" as he pounded his fists on the other's torso (but they were very light hits, nothing damaging).

The redhead chuckled as he easily stopped the other's pounding and opened his arms when his boyfriend threw himself onto him to hide his blushing face in the redhead's neck.

When his blush receding, the omega lifted his face slightly and got a glimpse of the bite mark on the alpha's neck.

Looking in awe, Kouki lifted his hand up to lightly trace over the new mark, his mark that he had just placed on his now bond mate. His mark that now showed anyone who saw it that Akashi Seijuurou was now taken, and the person who had he belonged to was him, Furihata Kouki.

Kouki felt his heart soar at the realization that he and Seijuurou now belonged to each other permanently, until death do them part.

"Kouki, love?" Seijuurou asked, feeling the other trace over the mark on his neck and seeing the look of wonder on his omega's face.

HIS omega.

Seijuurou smiled as he traced the mark that he himself had made on his omega, claiming him and intwining their lives together.

They were finally officially bonded.

Kouki made a humming sound as he felt the ragged edges of the bitemark. The mark itself was still swollen, bruised in color and obviously still in the stages of healing as there was a bit of dried blood at the sides.

It was one of the most beautiful things the omega had ever seen on his alpha.

Sighing, Kouki looked up and waited until his new mate's eyes met with his own. When the redhead finally looked at him, he whispered, "We're bonded, Sei." His voice was still full of awe and amazement while his eyes misted from the full inclination of what being bonded with the alpha fully meant from now on.

Seijuurou was overjoyed just as much, if not more as the omega. Being bonded meant so many things in their life would change from now on.

They would no longer be able to be with anyone else other than the other. They would be acknowledge by everyone as bond mates and Kouki was now safe to reveal his true secondary gender to the world.

And even now, their souls were now connected in a way where they would always be able to sense the other, feel what the other was feeling in the very back of their minds. It was a bit unnerving, felt a little intrusive...but Seijuurou loved it, feeling his mate with him and knowing he would never be alone ever again.

Bringing their lips together in a gentle kiss, a completely contrast to their earlier kisses, Seijuurou whispered back in a voice full of tears of his own, "Yes, love. We are bond mates. You are now mine just as I will for ever be yours."

And they hugged one another, tears falling as they cried and laughed, holding on as if they had no intention to ever let go- not that they ever did.

For Seijuurou and Kouki were bond mates. One being incomplete without the other. And together, they will be extraordinary.


	27. Chapter 27

## A Warning To Green Tea Fish

"Furi-senpai! Over here!"

Kouki smiled as he brought his hand up to greet one of his friends and kouhai as he walked over to their eating spot for lunch.

The male omega was now in his fourth and final year of college, studying to be an architect.

Like most college students, the omega had found college to be scary and overwhelming at first, but with the help and support from his husband and their friends, Kouki soon found himself adjusting to this new life.

Now, the brunette found himself in his graduating year balancing his final thesis, exams, being hired to design one of his father-in-law's business partner's new store- which he would also use as his final project for school, and trying to be the best husband he could for his loving alpha mate.

Overall, Kouki found college fun. Exhausting, but fun.

And just like he had to adjust to college, the brunette also had to adjust to married life with his alpha and the heir of one of the most richest companies in the world, Akashi Seijuurou.

Even now, Kouki felt his heart skip a beat whenever someone addressed him as an Akashi.

At first, the omega was somewhat awkward living together with his new husband- the couple had lived apart for so long during high school that Kouki was a bit shy in having the redhead see him everyday at home, in his 'natural' state, per say.

But when the omega later learned that Seijuurou also had an 'off switch' while he was at home, Kouki found himself more comfortable to being himself and not forcing himself to worry about being perfect all the time around the other.

Even after their honeymoon phase had ended, Seijuurou and him were still deeply in love with each other.

Yes, they would have arguments every once in a while about a certain person's crazy spending habits or when another certain someone forgets to call if they need to be picked up since walking home alone at night is dangerous.

But despite the few disagreements, the couple also learned that one of the best things about being a married couple was that no matter how much they fought, they would always make up in the end.

And the make up sex was always a fantastic bonus afterwards.

Every time they overcame a problem, it just made them both and their marriage stronger in the end.

The couple were living at the Tokyo Mansion while they were schooling. They decided that after graduation, they would be moving into their own home that the omega had drew out the blueprints of himself.

And Seijuurou also convinced Kouki that when they moved, they could bring a few of the Akashi staff along to their new home.

At the moment, Kouki was completely satisfied with the direction his life was taking him. He had a loving husband, their house was being built and they were graduating this year and had plenty of job offers available to them after.

Everything in their lives was going perfect.

Well, except for one thing.

"What took you so long, Furi-senpai?" his friend asked him when the omega took a seat beside him.

Technically Kouki's name on all his legal documents was 'Akashi Kouki' and he was also addressed as such by all his teachers and mostly everyone else.

But all the omega's friends found it weird to call him by 'Akashi' and were confused when calling both he and his husband with the same name. So Kouki decided that his friends could still call him by his old last name or they could use his first name, in order to rid of any confusion.

But otherwise, to the rest of the world he was known as 'Akashi Kouki', which both he and his alpha loved the sound of.

Kouki sighed as he placed his backpack down. "Sorry, Yama-chan. I got sick again this morning." He grimaced.

Yamaguchi Tadashi was one of Kouki's new friends that he had made at the beginning of his third year and as soon as the two met, it was like best friends at first sight.

People always mistaken them for brothers or even twins due to their similar features: tanned skin, large wide eyes but small pupils, messy hair, skinny body frames, both are shy and easily nervous, they shiver when anxious or afraid and they both exude an aura of adorable cinnamon rolls that one can't help but want to cuddle and protect.

And incredibly enough, they both were the world's most rarest secondary gender, male omegas.

But there were also a few differences as well- Yamaguchi had darker hair and freckles on his cheeks. Also, Kouki would grumble sometimes that despite being two years older than his kouhai, Yamaguchi was actually a few inches taller than him.

Life really wasn't fair sometimes.

Anyway, the two immediately became close friends and had bonded over the fact that they had both been captains in their sports teams during their third year of high school, and even laughed over the coincidence that both of their jersey numbers when they first started out had been #12.

The male omegas would have lunch almost everyday together as they chatted about classes and their partners- Yamaguchi was mated with a tall blonde alpha (his childhood friend and high school volleyball teammate).

Tsukishima made Kouki uneasy at first- the blonde never smiled and looked either bored or condescending most of the time. But the omega soon became friends with the tall blonde. He found the blonde to be like a combination of Midorima and Mayuzumi.

The omegas would usually eat in a grassy area of the school, wanting privacy away from the other students, together with their partners or some of their other friends with them. But today, the two were alone since their partners were away (Seijuurou was on a business trip while Tsukishima had caught a cold).

Yamaguchi frowned as his eyebrows scrunched up, "Again? This has been going on for over a week now, right?"

Kouki sighed as he opened the bento he had made- it was green tea fish and rice with a few vegetables and a banana yogurt cup that was actually leftovers from last night's dinner.

He preferred to make his and Seijuurou's own lunches, freshly cooked, to bring to school but due to his nausea that morning, he didn't have enough time or the strength to do anything but pack up last night's leftovers instead (their personal chef offered to whip something up for him that morning, but the omega politely declined as to not trouble the other).

"I'm not really sure why this is happening. I mean, I wake up and puke my guts out but a few minutes later, I feel normal again." The brunette sighed again.

Yamaguchi took a bite of his onigiri, looking thoughtful. "Maybe it's the stomach flu? Have you gotten checked up at the hospital?" He mumbled, mouth full.

Kouki shook his head. "No, but I don't think it's that serious. And I really do feel perfectly fine after vomiting. It's weird..." He trailed off, absently eating his food while not looking at what he was putting into his mouth.

His omega friend made a face at him. "Um, what's weird is that you're eating green beans with banana yogurt right now." He pointed out.

Kouki looked down and realized that he was eating just that. But for some reason, he couldn't see what was the matter with it. "It tastes good, Yama-chan. Here, you try." He brought up a piece of toasted garlic with a heaping blob of banana yogurt on it.

Yamaguchi shut his lips tight and shook his head. "Ugh, no thanks." He muttered between closed lips, avoiding the other's chopsticks.

Kouki shrugged, popping the yummy yogurt-covered garlic in his mouth. "Suit yourself."

Yamaguchi sighed. "Okay, anyway did you tell your husband about getting sick again? I'm surprised that Akashi-senpai hadn't insisted you visit the doctor yet." He pointed out, knowing just how protective the redhead was of his omega husband and bondmate.

"Sei doesn't really know that I'm still getting sick." The omega admitted. "He's been on an overseas trip since Sunday and won't be back until this Saturday."

Seijuurou had been invited to attend some type of business seminar in England.

In fact, Kouki was also supposed to tag along- he was also invited since people knew that he was Seijuurou's spouse- but the day before their flight, Kouki had collapsed in their bedroom.

The omega was hit by a wave of dizziness that made him lose his balance and luckily fall onto their bed. He was only out for a few seconds and when he woke up again, he felt only a bit dizzy and tired.

Insisting that he would be okay, Kouki stayed home while he convinced his worried husband to attend the trip and and made a promise that he would be careful- Kouki wasn't alone after all since every single one of the Akashi staff adored the omega and vowed to watch over him.

Reluctantly, Seijuurou left but made Kouki also promise to call him at least twice a day and to inform him if anything happens.

But Kouki broke his promise and hadn't told the redhead about being sick every morning since the other left. In fact, he had also been sick when the redhead had still been there, but luckily he had hidden his illness well enough for the other to not notice at the time.

The brunette had thought nothing much about the vomiting at first (he had no high temperature) so he only ignored it. But after the fourth day of continuously getting sick, Kouki was now worried.

And it wasn't just in the mornings. Just the other day, Kouki had baked about two dozen green tea snickerdoodles for himself and the house staff.

But as soon as he bitten into one, he threw it right back up, plus his lunch and breakfast that day right into the sink. Thankfully, he had been alone in the kitchen so none of the staff had found out (they would have sent for a private doctor and informed his husband immediately).

"You should tell him, Furi-senpai." Yamaguchi advised him.

Kouki sighed, "I know. And I will say something when Sei comes back from his trip. But I really don't think it's anything serious- I don't even have a fever when I last checked." His kouhai was still giving him worried looks so Kouki quickly changed the topic to something else.

Laughing at the story Yamaguchi told him about one of his high school volleyball teammates, Kouki continued to only poke at his uneaten fish.

Yamaguchi ate one of his soggy, floppy fries (his favorite) and noticed the other making a face at his bento. "What's wrong?" Kouki's face twisted a bit as he practically destroyed the fish that was left in his bento with his chopsticks.

The head chef had cooked Kouki one of his favorite dishes for dinner last night- green tea and pistachio-crusted halibut. It was one of his favorite meals since Kouki loved pistachios and loved how well the flaky fish matched together with the green tea, lemon and pepper.

But last night, he didn't have an appetite for the fish- there was just something about it that didn't appeal to him and instead he opted to eat the side dishes instead. Since he hated wasting food, he told himself that maybe he'll want it the next day so he told the chef to save it.

Although now today, Kouki felt nothing but nauseous as he scraped off the green breadcrumb crust off the now gross-looking baked fish.

"Nothing," Kouki lied, taking a small piece of fish and forcing himself to eat it.

This ended up being the wrong thing to do since as soon as the small piece of fish entered his mouth, the omega's face turned a shade of green and immediately Kouki found himself rushing behind the tree he had been sitting against and vomited his entire lunch on the ground.

Yamaguchi gasped when he saw the other getting sick and quickly rubbed his senpai's back as the other gagged and vomited more, splattering some sick onto the tree trunk.

Coughing, Kouki gave a few more empty gags before finally having nothing left inside of him to bring up.

Spitting onto the ground, Kouki thanked his friend when the other omega offered him his can of sprite to wash out the gross taste left in his mouth. They decided to move their spot to another tree, away from Kouki's mess.

Groaning, Kouki laid on the ground- not carrying if he was dirtying his clothes- and closed his eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to visit the nurse's office now?" Yamaguchi asked again, looking worriedly down at him.

Kouki gulped as he opened his eyes and slowly sat up. "No. I actually feel okay now." And he did. The omega felt no more dizziness and even felt a little hungry after just puking up his entire lunch.

Yamaguchi looked unconvinced so Kouki had to assure him that he would take some medicine when he got home and if he felt worse later on, he would tell someone and get checked up.

After school, Kouki walked back home. He always felt awkward being dropped off and picked up at school with the Akashi limousine everyday so every once in a while, the brunette would insist that he walk- it was good exercise anyway.

Getting home, Kouki was automatically greeted by the mansion's butler, Shinjikawa Yusuke. "Good afternoon, Kouki-sama." The butler greeted him, taking Kouki's jacket and bag.

Kouki smiled as he greeted the older man back, "Hello, Yusuke-san." He took his shoes off and placed on his house slippers while another maid came in to take his shoes away.

"Would you like me to bring you up a snack?" Yusuke asked politely.

Kouki looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding his head. "Yes. Can you bring me up some salt and vinegar chips please?" He asked brightly.

The butler smiled as he told Kouki that he would bring up his snack soon. With a bow, Yusuke left the room, leaving Kouki to head to Seijuurou and his bedroom.

Walking into the room, Kouki flopped onto their king-sized bed and snuggled up to his husband's pillow, the faint scent from his alpha still lingering on it and making him miss the other even more.

With no assignments given that day, Kouki decided to watch some tv. He had no more dizzy spells after lunch, but he did end up feeling very sleepy during his afternoon classes.

More than once, he got scolded by his teachers when they caught him taking a nap at his seat. Yawning widely, Kouki had told himself that he needed to stay awake until his classes ended and then when he got home, he'd take it easy there.

The omega began to watch an anime about a high school boy in a babysitting club when there was a knock sounding. Answering the door, Kouki thanked the maid for the bowl of chips before closing the door once more and going back to bed.

Awwing at a scene where the little kids were rehearsing for their play, Kouki sat up in bed while munching on his snack.

Usually, the brunette disliked salt and vinegar chips (the taste was too sharp for him) but now he couldn't stop shoving more chips inside his mouth.

After the episode ended, Kouki looked down at the empty bowl with a frown. As he contemplated getting more, and possibly adding some strawberry yogurt over it, there was suddenly the sound of loud yelling coming from the tv.

Looking up, Kouki saw an anime short playing on the screen.

He watched as the husband in the show arrived home and commented on how his wife returned early from work.

The wife looked ill as she was slumped over their couch, telling him how sick she felt and that she had to go home because she was feeling lethargic and nauseous.

Tucking her into bed, the husband walked away to let her rest, thinking about how strange it was that she didn't have a fever although she felt sick and how she was only a little tired but had just fallen asleep instantly.

Then as he recalled how his wife had been having some weird mood swings (she's been in an abnormally good mood lately) suddenly the husband paused.

Kouki froze at the same time the husband did, and then the husband made a shocked face as he finally realized what was going on.

"Huh? Is this... Morning sickness?!" The husband yelled.

Kouki found himself beginning to panic along side the husband, who was frantically walking back and forth across the floor, trying to figure out what to do.

Feeling sick lately...

Vomiting every morning...

Too sleepy to stay awake...

Kouki slowly looked down at the empty chip bowl on his lap before shifting his eyes towards his flat-looking stomach.

Eating things one normally wouldn't eat...

Remembering all the symptoms he had learned during high school and matching it to his own symptoms from the past few days, Kouki eyes widened as he gasped.

"Oh god."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Ignoring the whispers from behind, Kouki focused on the shelves in front of him, trying to decide which test he should get.

The brunette had to find out if he was pregnant or not.

Changing his clothes into a black hoodie and jeans, Kouki left the house, telling the maids that one of his friends wanted to give him something and that he would be back shortly.

Now Kouki found himself at the drugstore, hood up to cover his messy hair, sunglasses and a mask cover his face. He knew he probably looked strange right now, but Kouki couldn't chance being caught by someone he knew while he was buying a pregnancy test.

Because he himself wanted to know the results first and then Seijuurou second, IF he was indeed pregnant. If anyone saw him now, then his father-in-law would definitely find out.

And Masaomi would probably throw him a party without even confirming whether the omega was really pregnant or not (After the wedding, Masaomi had immediately started asking the couple when they would be giving him his first grandchild. The omega was horrified when his father-in-law told him that he wanted at least ten heirs).

Anyway, Kouki just needed to buy his pregnancy test and go home so he could find out if he was really carrying a baby inside of him or not.

But most likely he wasn't pregnant and all of this would be something he'd laugh at himself over for being so silly and panicking over nothing.

After a few more minutes, Kouki finally decided to buy five pregnancy tests, each a different brand (one can never be too sure, after all).

"Here." Kouki said shyly, placing his purchases down as he adjusted his sunglasses and face mask, also checking that his hood was still up.

The girl at the counter gave Kouki a suspicious look due to the omega's weird disguise but as soon as she saw the pregnancy tests and smelled that he was an omega, her expression changed into one of understanding.

"Would you like me to put these in a paper bag or plastic?" She asked him kindly.

"Paper, please?" Kouki replied, almost whispering like he was afraid someone would overhear him and recognize his voice.

The girl checked out the items while Kouki paid the total cost. Handing the bag to him, the girl gave him an encouraging and sympathetic smile, "Thank you and good luck."

Kouki gulped as he nodded his head to her. "Y-yes! Thank you too!" And with that, he nearly sprinted out of the store.

With his bag clutched to his chest, the omega nearly ran all the way home, panting when the butler opened the door for him.

"Would you like-" Yusuke went to take his bag but Kouki shook his head and clutched the bag tighter to him.

"No! I mean, I'm fine. I'm going to my room now!" Kouki gave the butler a tight smile as he rushed up to his bedroom and locked the door behind him.

Their private bathroom was connected to their bedroom so Kouki went straight there and made sure to lock the door.

Dumping out the contents of the bag onto the sink countertop, Kouki grabbed a pregnancy test and read the instructions.

After peeing on the stick, wait three minutes. Afterwards, if the stick shows one line, then it's negative and he was not pregnant. But if there was two lines that were showing...then DEAR GOD.

Kouki found another stick with the same instructions and decided to use both tests first.

After doing the first instruction, Kouki placed both tests on the countertop and forced himself not to peek at them until the three minutes were over.

Pacing back and forth across the bathroom, Kouki began to work himself into a panic.

What if the tests came out positive?

What if he really was pregnant?

How would his husband take the news?

He and Seijuurou had spoken about having children a few times before, especially when they had first wedded, and they both agreed that they would start trying after graduating college. They had even started using condoms together with the birth control Kouki had been on since they first mated.

Kouki was currently in his last year of university. Would he be able to balance being pregnant with his thesis and the final major project that he was currently working on?

But what was most important to Kouki was: If he was pregnant, would Seijuurou even be happy about having a baby now?

With all these frantic thoughts swirling around in his head, the omega jumped in surprise when the alarm on his cellphone beeped, signaling that the three minutes were up.

Keeping his eyes looking up, he walked towards the sink, terrified at what the results may be.

Taking a deep breath, Kouki nodded to himself and looked down to read the results.

l l

Positive.

Kouki stared blankly at the two tests, both with two lines signaling that the results were positive.

He closed his eyes and waited for about a minute to pass. And then he opened them again and looked down to check once more.

l l

Positive.

As if his body was moving on its own, Kouki walked at a normal pace down to the kitchen to grab himself a large pitcher of juice, thanking the head chef when the kind woman informed him that she freshly squeezed a new batch.

Returning to his room, Kouki downed about half of the pitcher and ended having to wait another thirty minutes (why did juice take so long to travel down the body?) before the brunette felt like he could pee again.

He used another two different tests this time- if there was a minus sign, then the results were negative. But if there was a plus sign, then it was definitely positive.

Pacing across the floor once more, the omega waited another three minutes for these results.

At the beeping sound from his phone, Kouki slowly walked to the counter and looked down.

➕

Positive.

Both tests showed the same results.

It took Kouki twenty minutes this time to finish off the rest of the juice and pee on the last test stick he had. This test would show the words either Pregnant or Not Pregnant, leaving no doubt at all as the result would be clear.

After the three minute wait, he didn't even hesitate to look down at the fifth and final test.

Pregnant.

In clear letters, unmistakable on the stick, the word 'Pregnant' was showing right on it.

All five test sticks he had taken were all laid out in front of him, all of them showing a result of positive.

He, Akashi Kouki, was pregnant.

Feeling as if the wind was knocked out of him, Kouki slowly slid down to the floor. He stared at nothing as all his previous thoughts had stopped.

He was pregnant and he didn't know what to feel about it.

He wasn't happy or sad or angry or anything really.

He was just in shock.

Kouki didn't know his long he stayed on the floor, but suddenly the ringing from his phone snapped him out of his stupor.

Reaching slowly for the device, he pressed on the screen to answer. "Hello?" He said softly.

"Kouki? Your voice sounds a bit off- are you alright?" His husband's voice replied back.

The brunette blinked a few times before shaking his head and then remembering that the other wouldn't be able to see him. "I'm fine. I'm just...tired right now." He wasn't lying- he felt like sleeping for the next 24 hours- especially after seeing his pregnancy results.

"Are you sure you are fine? A moment ago I suddenly felt uneasy and my instincts were telling me it may have something to do with you." Seijuurou explained, his voice sounding worried. Kouki bit his tongue to keep from cursing- he forgot that their bond sometimes made the two a bit telepathic when it came to the other. If one person was in trouble, the other would somehow be able to pick up on it.

Gulping, Kouki gave a nervous laugh. "Um...I did feel a little sick earlier..." He trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

Of course, this made his husband even more worried. "You are still ill? Have you informed anyone about your sickness? Why haven't I received any calls of your condition from the staff? Have you visited the doctor or would you like someone sent to the house instead-"

"Sei! Calm down!" Kouki interrupted, stopping the alpha from panicking. Taking a deep breath, Kouki suddenly caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

Shifting to the side, the omega's eyes strayed on his still slender middle. "Please calm down- I just felt a little dizzy earlier, but I'm feeling better now. It's just...well, it's... it's...

"It's nothing bad." He finally got out.

Kouki took a deep breath when he finally realized that what he had just said was true.

Him being pregnant right now....it really wasn't bad.

Not at all.

He had a husband who loved him so much that the alpha would worry about the tinniest little discomfort the omega had, even if it was only a bout of dizziness. And he knew that his husband would be over the moon about the pregnancy- Seijuurou would probably want to hold a large party to celebrate it.

Kouki himself loved Seijuurou so much that he would give his alpha anything- even a beautiful child of their very own.

Yes, the timing may be off from what they had originally planned for, but the omega knew that he would have the support and help from his husband, their families and many friends who would jump at the chance to being aunts and uncles for them.

Kouki was pregnant with Seijuurou's child. A tiny baby that would be the combination of the alpha's and his own DNA... flesh and blood...a mix of everything from the both of them.

He was pregnant and it wasn't bad at all...in fact, this was a miracle really.

Placing his hand gently on his flat stomach, feeling how soft it still was, indicated that he wasn't too far along to be showing yet. Kouki stared at his stomach while he could hear his husband over the phone as the alpha questioned him again if everything was really alright.

With his eyes stuck on his middle, Kouki found himself tearing up as he smiled.

"Yeah...actually, I think it'll be more than alright from now on."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"So did you tell Akashi-senpai?"

Kouki and Yamaguchi were walking to the courtyard where their bond mates were waiting for them to eat lunch together.

Kouki paused, almost tripping over himself. "What?" He looked at his friend in shock.

Yamaguchi also stopped and gave his senpai a wide-eyed look. "Eh? About your sickness, remember? You told me that you would tell him." He clarified.

The older brunette was relieved as he gave a fake laugh. "Ah, yeah...that. I told Sei but I'm feeling better now." He assured the younger man.

His friend nodded, satisfied with his answer as he began to tell him about some pop quiz one of his professors had unfairly sprung during class.

Kouki sighed at himself, shaking his head. Of course the other haven't realized that he was pregnant yet. In fact, not even his own husband was aware that they were expecting a child soon.

When Seijuurou had returned home last weekend, Kouki had every mind to tell his husband the good news. Unlike most people, the brunette was the type to just announce things in a straightforward manner- like their engagement, for example.

"Sei! I missed you!" The omega beamed as he let himself be held by his mate, taking in the spicy cinnamon alpha scent that he loved so much. Ever since they married, the couple rarely was without the other for more than a day or two.

Seijuurou chuckled as he gently kissed his temple before pressing another kiss on the omega's lips. "I missed you too, love." He told the other softly.

The couple held each other for a few more moments, sharing light touches and kisses before the redhead sighed. "So how have you been, Kouki? I've been told that you have been feeling ill."

Kouki shook his head, avoiding his husband's worried eyes. "Oh, it's nothing much. Just a bit dizzy here and there. And maybe a little tired sometimes, but it's really nothing too panic over." He told him.

The alpha still wanted to call a doctor over to check on him, but the brunette refused and reassured his husband that he would go to the hospital if his dizziness became more serious.

During dinner, the redhead became suspicious again when Kouki politely requested no sauce on his fish.

"I seem to recall that you loved the asparagus sauce before- so much so that you had drenched your fish in it the last time we ate this dish." Seijuurou pointed out.

Their chef had prepared for them a delicious dish of salmon with asparagus-green tea sauce and topped with garden cress and blueberries.

When Kouki had found out that he was carrying a baby, he also discovered many new things about himself now that he was pregnant. And one of those things was that he was unable to stomach or tolerate the taste, smell or even look of anything green tea.

Contrary to his initial belief that maybe it was the fish that had made him feel sick, it was actually anything that contained green tea that had him vomiting- even if it was a mere teaspoon that was added, the omega was super sensitive to the tea ingredient.

Kouki began to sweat, thinking that this was it. That this would be the perfect moment to tell his spouse about the pregnancy and that they were going to be parents.

So the brunette opened his mouth to say just that...

...but for some reason, he ended up saying something else instead. "Oh...I guess I'm just not in the mood for it. Besides, the blueberries by themselves taste great!" He said enthusiastically, plopping the blue fruit into his mouth.

Seijuurou grinned, full of understanding, as he nodded his head and continued to eat his meal.

Kouki lips tilted down and he scrunched his eyebrows together as he wondered why he wasn't able to say anything about the pregnancy.

For some reason, it felt wrong to just spring up the news just like that to his husband.

Shaking his head and telling himself that he was being ridiculous, the omega opened his mouth to try again. "Um, Sei?" When his alpha looked up and gave him a questioning look, the brunette took a deep breath began he continued, "I-I...well, I actually have something t-to say." He winced at his shaky words.

Seijuurou was also frowning, knowing that the omega rarely stuttered nowadays and only did so whenever he was feeling too anxious or scared. "What is it, Kouki? You know you can tell me anything." Seijuurou told him gently, placing his fork down to give his full attention to the other.

Kouki took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts (why was he feeling so nervous?) as he finally spoke, "I...well, um we are....I am...okay. The thing is, I am...expecting." He said the last word softly, but the redhead did catch it.

"Expecting?" The alpha looked at him, eyes full of worry and confusion. "What are you expecting?"

The brunette mentally screamed at himself for not being clear enough. "Uh....well, I'm, well mostly we...yeah, we are expecting a.... a....we're expecting a baby, doll. A babydoll."

The room was silent as the two stared at each other, not saying anything for an achingly long minute.

Finally, Seijuurou raised one of his eyebrows as he gave his husband a sly smirk. "Oh my, Kouki. A babydoll? You will be wearing one, I see? No need to be so nervous. Although you have surprised me with this, I quite am open to ANYTHING you have desired or fantasized doing with me." The alpha grinned, getting up from his seat and sauntering towards his startled mate.

Kouki sighed at the memory, shaking his head heavily.

Yamaguchi tilted his head to the side as he looked at his senpai. "Hm, what's up?"

The brunette waved his hand away. "It's nothing."

He was still hitting himself over his humiliating coverup- although he had to admit that he didn't regret all the fun the couple had that night and the night after (Seijuurou made sure to show Kouki once again exactly how fantastic he thought the omega looked in women's clothing).

The brunette wasn't even sure why he didn't just tell his husband that they were expecting a baby back then.

But at the time, it just didn't feel right. Kouki felt that since this announcement was so big, then he should also tell Seijuurou about the baby in an equally big way as well.

They should be in an extravagant setting where fireworks or confetti showered all over when he announced his pregnancy to his husband in a cheesy but cute fashion.

Obviously, living together and being married to an Akashi had rubbed off on him.

Either that or he was already experiencing pregnancy hormones.

The two omega's chatted as they walked, before Yamaguchi gave a gasp in pleasant surprise as someone they recognized made their way towards them.

"Tsukki!" The freckled boy waved happily.

"Hi, Tsukishima-kun." Kouki waved in greeting.

The tall blonde gave them a lazy wave as he came. "Tadashi. Furihata."

Yamaguchi threw his arms around his mate, nearly choking the tall alpha in the process. "Were you coming to get us?" He predicted.

Tsukishima nodded. "Yeah. Akashi is waiting at the table." He informed them.

The alpha looked towards Kouki for a moment, with an unreadable expression on his face that made the omega stand up a bit straighter in response.

Tsukishima seemed to pause for a moment before turning back to his own omega and digging out his wallet from his pocket. "Hey, Tadashi? Can you get me a coke from the soda machine? Buy something for you and Furihata as well." He said, handing the other a few bills.

Yamaguchi beamed, nodding as he turned to his senpai. "Your usual apple green tea, senpai?" He guessed.

Kouki tried to keeping himself from making a face at the words 'green tea' as he shook his head. "I'll take the melon milk instead." He told him.

Yamaguchi nodded and the other two watched as the omega walked away.

Tsukishima looked after his mate for a few more seconds. Then, he turned to the other older omega and raised an eyebrow at him. "So how far along are you?"

Kouki froze as he stared at the blonde with wide eyes. "W-What?"

"You're pregnant, right?" The blonde pointed out, looking down at the brunette's abdomen. "Though based on your reaction, I doubt you told anyone, let alone Akashi, about it yet." He assumed.

The omega was shocked. "How did you know?!" He hadn't told anyone- didn't even have a checkup yet- for he wanted Seijuurou to be the first one he told about the pregnancy. So how did Tsukishima figure it out? Was it showing or something?

"A person's scent changes right from conception. But other people don't really catch it unless they've actually been around a pregnant person before. And it's even harder to tell in male omegas since not only are male omegas rare enough as it is, meeting one that is pregnant is even more rare." The tall alpha pointed out to him.

Kouki was stunned. "So you have been around another pregnant male omega before, Tsukishima-kun?"

Tsukishima nodded. "My brother is a male omega and he gave birth to my niece last year ago. His usual scent is one of coffee, but when he was pregnant there was sort of a sweet milky smell added to him. The change of scent is usually subtle, but one can notice it if they've been around it before."

"And you could detect the change in my own scent too?" The omega questioned.

The blonde nodded. "Your normal scent is like marshmallows and vanilla, right? Well right now you smell even sweeter- like someone added brown sugar to the mix or something. It's not overpoweringly sweet or anything, but the difference is still there." He informed him.

Kouki was quiet for a few minutes, taking in everything the other had just told him.

Tsukishima sighed, seeing the older man start to go into a panic. "I'm not gonna tell anyone, by the way. It's your business, not mine." He said flatly.

Kouki sighed, relieved. "Thank you, Tsukishima-kun. And I'm not really sure how far along I am since I haven't seen a doctor yet." He answered the alpha's previous question. "I was planning on telling Sei about the baby first before making an appointment. But my problem now is that I just don't know when would be the best time to say it?" He confessed.

"Just tell him when you guys go home." The blonde suggested.

The omega frowned, shaking his head. "I tried that but for some reason, I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth. I kept feeling like I should do something special when I announce it- like something fun."

Tsukishima gave him a strange look. "I never would have pegged you as a person who cared about stuff like that."

Kouki blushed. "Well, I normally don't- I usually prefer to keep things simple and just say it straightforwardly." Seijuurou was usually the one who liked to do the surprising in their relationship.

The blonde nodded. "Your husband is rubbing off on you." He said in understanding.

The brunette giggled, nodding along. "Or it's the hormones. Either way, can you suggest me something I could do in order to make the moment more special?"

Tsukishima sighed as he shrugged. "Dunno. Surprises aren't really my thing neither."  
He turned his head when he noticed his own mate returning, three drinks cradled in his arms.

"But you can go online and check there- there's probably a lot of sickly sweet pregnancy reveal stuff that are listed on the internet."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Tsukishima had been correct and the pregnant omega was able to find various websites containing creative ways to tell your spouse that you were pregnant.

Some of the things there were as sickeningly sweet and corny as Tsukishima had told him, but majority of them were pretty cool to Kouki.

Now all Kouki had to do was pick one and give Seijuurou a nice surprise.

Unfortunately, the omega never imagined how hard telling one's spouse about their pregnancy would really be.

**ATTEMPT 1:**

"Sei! Here's your cup of coffee!" Kouki chirped, holding up the warm mug in excitement.

But Seijuurou shook his head, giving his mate a short kiss on the lips. "Sorry, love, I have a meeting I need to get to. I'll see you at lunch, though." He assured him.

Kouki frowned. "Uh-um, maybe you should drink some coffee first though, Sei. The caffeine will help better your mood for the rest of the day." He pointed out, holding out the mug even closer.

The redhead chuckled as he finished tying his tie and took the offered drink. "Is my mood truly that horrendous in the mornings, Kouki?" He teased.

The brunette only nodded, his eyes focused on the mug in his husband's hand.

Seijuurou downed the whole mug in a few gulps- thankfully the coffee was warm so he didn't burn himself.

He quickly placed it down on the coffee table and leaned in to give his husband another kiss before taking his shoulder bag. "Okay, now I really need to head off, Kouki. I'll see you at lunch and I love you!" The redhead called as he went out.

"Love you too and have a nice day, Sei." Kouki said softly, looking down at the empty mug that was on the table with an unhappy expression.

Picking up the mug, Kouki looked inside of it and sighed loudly, pouting.

Had his husband actually paused for a second and looked into this mug, then the redhead would have seen the words, "We're pregnant!" written right in the bottom of it.

**ATTEMPT 2:**

"Sei, do you know where my cupcake is?" Kouki asked, looking everywhere on the counter for it.

He had baked a batch of cupcakes earlier, but one of them had been special.

It was mocha flavored, which was his husband's favorite, and on the top he had piped on the word, "BABY" in black icing and sprinkled edible gold glitter on top to make it look even fancier.

The omega had left his decorated cupcakes on the counter as he left for a moment to use the restroom.

But when he came back, he noticed that the special cupcake that he was going to use to tell Seijuurou about the pregnancy was missing!

Seijuurou sat on the kitchen table, sipping on a glass of iced lemon water when he looked up from his phone. "Oh, I ate it earlier. Don't worry, I had a feeling that the gold glittered one was meant for me so that was the one I took." He assured him.

Kouki began to sweat as he looked at the other. "And, uh...did you notice anything written on the cupcake perhaps?" He squeaked out, wondering if his husband now knew that they were having a baby.

The alpha frowned as he looked at him questioningly. "There was something written on top? I did not notice anything."

The brunette looked at him in disbelief. "What? You did notice the black icing?!"

Seijuurou looked thoughtful before he understood. "Oh! Those were words? I thought they were merely lines- all the glitter on top were covering most of the frosting and that must have twisted the words." He said, looking apologetic. "I apologize, Kouki. Was the writing very important?"

Kouki sighed in defeat, shaking his head. "No, not really."

He was never using edible gold glitter ever again.

**ATTEMPT 3:**

"Here, Sei!" Kouki said cheerfully, handing his husband a small box.

Seijuurou took it, giving Kouki a questionable look. "What is this?"

The omega grinned and waved his hand around. "Open it and find out!" He urged.

The redhead chuckled at his omega's excitement and proceeded to open the box.

Inside the box was a delicious looking cinnamon roll, cover in a thick white icing and lots of nuts. Looking down at the treat, Seijuurou lifted his head to give his mate a smile, "This looks delicious love, thank you." He told him gratefully.

Kouki smiled anxiously as he gestured towards the box. "And...um, did you notice anything special about this?" He gave his mate a pointed look.

Seijuurou looked confused as he looked down at the box closely.

Then, he caught the words.

"'Bun in the oven'." He read, looking thoughtful. And then his eyes lit up as he got it.

"Oh. I initially thought that you had baked this but did you buy this from a bakery instead?" He questioned, not noticing the sudden down look on his husband's face. "Would you like me to come with you next time to try out more of their baked goods?"

Kouki decided from that moment on to never involve food or drinks anymore.

**ATTEMPT 4:**

Kouki sighed as he wiped off his sweat, looking down at his work with a proud smile.

In front of their house in the driveway, he wrote out the words, 'Our baby is arriving!' in large letters with colored chalk. Surely this enormous message would be noticeable and hard to misinterpret.

Hearing a beeping sound, Kouki looked up and smiled as he saw his husband's car coming close.

Moving to the side, he waved his hand and cheerfully called out in greeting. "Sei! Welcome ho-" the words died out in his voice as he looked in horror as his husband parked right on top of his words.

"Kouki? What are you doing here?" Seijuurou asked, getting out of the car and placing his arms around his mate's hips and giving him a greeting hug.

Kouki looked around him to see that his lovely message was entirely covered by a Lexus GS Hybrid.

"Um, maybe you should move up the car a little?" The omega suggested, looking down worriedly.

Seijuurou shut the car door and pressed his key button, locking it up. "Hm? Did you say anything, love?" He asked, focusing his attention back on the brunette.

Before Kouki could say anything, suddenly raindrops began to fall, wetting the both of them.

"Ah, hold that thought for a moment. We should get inside first before we become drenched." Seijuurou interrupted, using his coat to shield his husband as they hurried towards the house.

"But, um..." The omega started, hesitant as he kept staring at his covered writing.

But Seijuurou shook his head as he urged his mate to move faster as one of the butlers arrived with a large umbrella ready for them. "And you are also recovering from your previous sickness, if I may recall." He reminded him. "So please do not argue any further and let us get inside before the weather worsens."

Kouki sighed as he let himself be led away.

And as expected, his message was completely washed away by the time the rain had finally stopped.

**ATTEMPT 11:**

Kouki huffed as he looked down at the box in his hands.

So far, all of his attempts were failures- like the shirt he wore with the word 'Preggers' on it that was completely ignored. Or the picture that was taken of the two of them, with him sneakily holding up a sign that said, 'We're having a baby!" but later came off as an epic fail as the photo had came out blurry.

"This will definitely be the one. Sei will definitely know that I am pregnant with this!" Kouki said quickly to himself, looking very determined.

Walking into his husband's home office, Kouki waved as his husband noticed his arrival and greeted him with a wide smile.

"Kouki, and may I ask what brings your presence here?" The redhead asked, getting up to kiss him.

Kouki grinned as he held up the flat box in his hands. "I wanted to do a puzzle with you! It'll be fun!" He said excitedly, placing the box on the other's table and pulling out the big puzzle pieces.

Seijuurou raised an eyebrow at his omega, although he only looked amused. "Well, this is suspicious. Also, do you not think that these puzzle pieces are a bit too easy for us?" He pointed out, holding up a rather large piece. This puzzle looked more like the type a five-year old could put together, rather than two twenty-year olds.

Kouki pouted his lip as he looked at his husband with pleading eyes. "We'll still have fun doing this, I promise! Besides, I heard that the picture it makes is much more interesting than actually putting it together." He winked.

The redhead laughed as he sat down, pulling his mate down to sit onto his lap as they both put together the puzzle.

It only took them a short amount of time to piece it altogether, but just as Seijuurou put the last piece down, Kouki let out a gasp.

Guess what? I am pregnant!

That was what the puzzle was SUPPOSED to read.

But unfortunately for the omega once again, things didn't work out like he had planned.

What he didn't know was that the box was missing two pieces.

So now, the puzzle before them read...

"Guess what? I am ant," Seijuurou read, looking at his husband with a questioning expression.

Kouki only buried his face in his hands, letting out a loud groan in response.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"The gods are playing too many tricks on me. Either that or maybe Sei is just really, really dense." Kouki mumbled, a large pout on his face.

Yamaguchi patted his shoulder in comfort as Tsukishima snorted. "Or it could be both." He suggested, grinning as his mate slapped his shoulder scoldingly.

They were once again having lunch together, sitting at their usual spot as they waited for Seijuurou to arrive.

Frowning in disapproval at his alpha, Yamaguchi turned back to his senpai with a comforting smile. "What makes you say that, Furi-senpai?"

Kouki sighed as he shook his head. "Ahh, never mind. It's nothing, really." He told the other, not wanting to tell the unknowing omega about his pregnancy.

Tsukishima, who was already aware of his situation, already had a clue about what was going on. "You couldn't find anything?" He predicted.

The brunette sighed again, shaking his head. "I found a lot of things actually. It's just that for one reason or another, none of those methods worked out." Letting out a frustrated breath, he furrowed his eyebrows even more. "Why is it that you figured it out instantly while Sei still doesn't get it after so much attempts! That's it, you must definitely be smarter than Sei, Tsukishima-kun." He grumbled.

Yamaguchi still didn't understand what exactly was going on, but he nodded his head in agreement to Kouki's last statement. "Yup! Kei is a genius!" He praised, cuddling into the other's side.

Tsukishima gave his mate a rare, genuine smile before it disappeared as he looked back to Kouki with his usual expression. "Why don't you try a new method?"

The omega puffed his cheeks out, giving the blonde a frustrated look. "Like what? I already tried everything!" He said in exasperation.

"Why don't you announce it while doing something you both like to do." The alpha proposed. "For Yamaguchi and I, it would probably be during a game of volleyball. We would both be focused during it and that would make it hard for us to miss anything the other would be doing." He pointed out.

"So what is something that you and Akashi like to do?"

Kouki was quiet as he mulled over Tsukishima's words in his head.

And then, the pregnant omega's eyes lit up when he finally came up with the perfect plan.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"How nostalgic." Seijuurou sighed, letting his fingers comb through his husband's hair, as the omega laid down with his head on the redhead's lap.

Kouki hummed, feeling very comfortable as he closed his eyes, enjoying the cozy warmth.

The married couple decided to go on one of their dates and Kouki suggested they have a picnic in the park that day. The weather was perfect for an outdoor outing and it had been a while since they had done this.

Seijuurou agreed and together, they spent the rest of the day at the park, taking strolls near the lake and eating lunch under the large pine trees as they observed some basketball games that were being played on the courts a few feet away.

With their shared bento finished- Seijuurou was surprised by his husband's large appetite, the omega finishing two out of three of the bento box tiers by himself- the couple were now resting as they enjoyed their surroundings.

"This reminds me of the study sessions we would hold here." Kouki told him, remembering how the two would study there with their books during high school. Now in university, the couple would study in their home or in their private garden.

The redhead smiled. "Speaking of study sessions, one of my fondest memories was of the time we first began dating." He said.

Kouki grinned as he opened his eyes to look at the alpha. "I still remember the surprised look on your face when I asked you out for the first time. It was totally worth it."

"Indeed." The redhead agreed, leaning down as the couple exchanged a few kisses together.

Turning away, Kouki looked towards the basketball courts and noticed that they were empty- the other players must have gone on a lunch break themselves.

Sitting up, Kouki pointed towards it, "Well since it's free now, why don't we play some basketball?" He suggested, getting up before helping his mate up as well. He then opened the bag he brought with them and pulled out the basketball he had packed.

Seijuurou nodded, looking forward to playing against his husband. Since they had started university, unfortunately neither of them had the time to join their school's basketball team.

But the couple still played basketball together every once in a while. And all the miracles, together with those who had partners, would meet up every two months or so for their usual reunion games.

As they stood on the court, Kouki gave a suggestion. "Hey, Sei? I have an idea. I wanna bet that you can't make a basket from all the way over there." He pointed to the very end of the court, right in front of the fence. The distance from the hoop was farther than any normal basketball full court line.

Seijuurou raised his eyebrow, smirking at the challenge. "And what, pray tell, would we be betting on?" He asked, looking very interested.

The omega blushed at the other's implications but shook his head to clear it. "Um, if I win then you have to anything I say for the rest of the day." He told him.

The redhead grinned. "And if I win?"

Kouki's face turned red as he mumbled, "Then I'll do anything for you."

With an expression on his face that made Kouki think twice about making the bet, Seiuurou nodded as he started to walk towards the fence, "Deal."

Kouki watched the other walk away before snapping out of it and following after him.

Passing the basketball to his husband, Kouki watched as Seijuurou bounced the ball a few times on the ground before holding the ball and looking back at him, "All I have to do is get one basket, correct?" Seijuurou asked to confirm.

Kouki gulped before he nodded. "Yup. But you only have one chance." He reminded him.

Seijuurou gave him a cocky wink as he looked back at the hoop in front of him. "One chance is all I need, Kouki."

With his eyes focused on the hoop, Seijuurou twirled the basketball in his hands a few times before clutching it firmly as he brought it up.

Holding the ball up in front of him, the redhead readied to take his shot.

Pushing his arms out, the ball had almost left his hands before Seijuurou noticed something strange on it.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he paused in taking his shot. Bringing the ball up closer to his face, he found words that were written right on the basketball with what seemed to be permanent marker.

Seijuurou's eyes widened when he read each word that was written.

'Sei! We're going to be daddies soon! ＼(^o^)／'

The alpha immediately looked towards his mate, his red eyes blown wide on his stunned face.

Kouki stood there with a tearful smile when he watched as his husband finally received his message. His smile widened when the redhead turned to look at him for confirmation.

With a wide grin, Kouki brought his hands to his middle and lovingly cradled his still flat belly. "I'm pregnant, Sei!" He finally announced aloud, shouting the words for the whole world to hear.

Immediately, Seijuurou was right in front of him, raising the omega up in the air and twirling him around. The redhead's smile was one of the largest and most happiest Kouki had ever seen on his mate's face.

Kouki laughed out loud as he held onto his husband tightly, "Sei! I'm starting to feel dizzy!" He giggled when the other let him down instantly. He nuzzled into his alpha's neck, letting himself sink into his husband's warm embrace and scent.

"You are with child, Kouki? Truly?" Seijuurou didn't really ask, but stated this, with his voice filled with awe and joy.

Kooks nodded, eyes tearing up even more when his husband released him but only to crouch down as the redhead raised up the omega's shirt and gave his bare stomach a soft kiss. "Our baby is inside of you right now. Oh, Kouki... This is the most wonderful surprise you've ever given me." His husband whispered, his eyes full of wonder and delight as he looked at his husband's stomach.

Kouki held his stomach gently as Seijuurou stood up, bringing his arms around his pregnant mate once more.

"Our baby is coming, Sei. We're really going to be parents!" He told him excitedly, giggling just before his mate swept him up for another, much deeper kiss this time.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Masaomi-papa! You cannot buy your grandchild his own car. Why? Because he isn't even born yet!" Kouki sighed in exasperation, shaking his head as he listened to his father-in-law's reasoning as to why his unborn grandchild would need his own Ferrari right now.

Seijuurou smiled behind his morning cup of tea, watching his mate argue on the phone with his father.

After learning about his husband's pregnancy, Seijuurou immediately took his mate to the hospital where they he insisted that the omega get a proper check up for himself and their baby.

By coincidence, the obstetrician they were brought to was Midorima's mother, Midorima Akira, who greeted the couple with a kind smile.

After the examination and ultrasound, Akira confirmed the pregnancy, informing them that the omega was currently around 7 weeks pregnant right now.

Seijuurou and Kouki immediately decided to name Akira their main obstetrician in charge of their pregnancy and birth, which Akira gladly agreed and was happy to do for them.

She congratulated them about their baby, informing them about what to expect and answering any questions they wanted to know. She also gave Kouki some prescription prenatal vitamins that would be essential for him to take.

As Akira waved to the married couple farewell, telling them that she'll see them at their next appointment, Seijuurou had then received a phone call.

Of course, the caller had been his father and the pair wasn't even out of the hospital yet before Massomi had gotten word about the pregnancy and immediately called to congratulate them about his future grandchild.

Kouki sighed again as he rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. I'm still thinking about the playhouse but the car is still a NO. I meant it, Masaomi-papa! Anyway, I gotta go. Okay, Seijuurou and the baby sends their love too. Bye-bye!" The omega hung up his phone, shaking his head. "I swear, you definitely inherited your crazy spending genes from father, God!" He groaned.

Seijuurou chuckled at the weary look on the omega's face. "You never know- maybe our child will inherit the Akashi 'spending genes' as well?" He pointed out.

The redhead grinned widely at the louder groan his mate gave at that.

"Whatever. I'm sure we can handle any crazy genes that our baby gets." Kouki said confidently.

Seijuurou gave him a fond smile before looking down at the other's stomach, feeling his smile widened. "I also have faith that we can handle anything as long as we do it together." They both shared a soft expression between each other before Kouki looked back down at his phone to type something in it.

Cutting into his omelet, Seijuurou pointed out, "But if it does become too much, remember that we will always have the support from our friends and family who would gladly help us with either him or her." Kouki agreed with that as well. "Speaking of friends and family, since only father is aware about the baby coming, I would like to ask your opinion about how we should announce it to the rest? Shall we hold a party?" The redhead suggested, taking a bite of his egg.

Kouki paused for a split second before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "A party seems fun..." He trailed off. Suddenly, the omega's phone made a loud sound.

*Ping!*

"What was that?" Seijuurou looked at his suddenly innocent-looking husband suspiciously. The redhead recognized that familiar chime and it gave him a familiar sense of deja vu.

"Nothing." Kouki replied calmly, putting his phone back into his pocket before picking up his fork to continue eating.

"Kouki. Please tell me you did not just announce our pregnancy over an email like you did our engagement?" The alpha questioned him, knowing exactly what his pregnant mate was thinking.

Kouki pursed his lips, shaking his head. "I did not just announce our pregnancy over an email." He repeated after his alpha.

"Good." Seijuurou gave a nod.

The dining room was quiet for a moment as Seijuurou sipped his tea while Kouki cut into his omurice with his fork. "...Now tell me the truth, Kouki."

"I just announced our pregnancy over an email. I'M SORRY!" Kouki dropped his fork onto his plate and brought his hands together, pleading for forgiveness.

"Kouki!" Seijuurou couldn't help but laugh, giving his husband an incredulous look.

"I swear, I forgot that you like doing big announcements!" Kouki bowed his head, apologetically. He quickly got up and winded his arms around the alpha, sitting in his husband's lap.

"Is it too early to blame this on the pregnancy hormones?" Kouki suggested sheepishly.

The redhead chuckled, shaking his head as he held onto his omega, letting Kouki nuzzle into his neck as he whispered all the things he would do to make it up to him.

Going onwards, Seijuurou stealthily began to prepare himself for what he knew would be a very interesting upcoming nine months.


	28. Chapter 28

## A Green Tea-Free Pregnancy

"Kouki, are you sure you should be moving around so much?" Seijuurou questioned him, standing right beside his omega as if the other would slip and fall at any moment.

Kouki sighed and rolled his eyes as he let his worrywart of a husband help him lift up the large bowl and poured the blueberry yogurt mixture into his whole wheat pie crust.

Decorating his pie with peach slices, Kouki repeated for the nth time that day, "I'm fine, Sei. Just because I'm pregnant now doesn't mean that I'm just suddenly gonna break." he pointed out, giving the other an exasperated glance.

Seijuurou returned it with a sheepish look as he leaned in to give his spouse an apologetic kiss, with the omega gladly accepting. "I apologize love if my actions are considered a bit overbearing, but I can't seem to help myself." He confessed.

Kouki gave him an forgiving smile and nodded, letting his alpha take the finished pie and placing it in the refrigerator to set for two hours. "Well, I do understand."

And the brunette did. He knew how protective alphas (also betas and omegas, but alphas were a whole other level) got over their mates, and that protectiveness would only multiply once their mates were carrying their child inside them.

Seijuurou had barely left Kouki's side since his confirmed pregnancy and honestly, most of the time the omega found himself okay and actually liked being pampered by the other (seriously, Kouki chalked up this weird behavior to either him being an Akashi for too long or pregnancy hormones).

Speaking of weird behaviors and pregnancy hormones, Kouki found himself experiencing the full blast of both of these.

His attending obstetrician and the doctor in charge of his entire pregnancy plus the one who will deliver his baby, Midorima Akira, assured them that all the mood swings that he would be experiencing were considered normal- especially during the first trimester where the hormones would be running pretty high.

And boy did his hormones and mood swings fly.

Kouki flinched when he recalled the time when he bursted out in tears for no reason at all during class when the professor was lecturing them about the dangers of surveying structures and buildings alone. He remembered when they eventually had to call Seijuurou to pick him up because his crying wouldn't stop even after 20 minutes.

Or another time when he had gotten angry at his husband and nearly bit off the alpha's head when Seijuurou had politely pointed out to him that maybe he was drinking too many yogurt smoothies for dinner (he had been on his fourth peanut butter smoothie by then). But in Kouki's defense, the redhead's words had registered in his pregnant mind as "You look like a whale." so who wouldn't get upset at that?

Or when the couple were watching a show on tv and Kouki had alternated between laughing hysterically and sobbing dreadfully back and forth during the duration of ten minutes. His husband decided that it would be wise for them to avoid watching children shows featuring little kids in them from now on.

And who could forget the time when Kouki had first told Haizaki that the rough omega would become an uncle soon. As expected, his fellow male omega was not happy about the brunette carrying the midget devil's spawn and that Kouki hadn't even graduated yet. Seijuurou and Nijimura (who were in the background during their video call) watched on in amusement as the intimidating Haizaki actually cowered under Kouki's murderous rage. And then when the pregnant omega sobbed in the next second, Haizaki panicked and quickly said that he had been lying and actually groveled for forgiveness. Haizaki then learned to never upset his pregnant best friend again and vowed retribution against Seijuurou and Nijimura for laughing way too loudly at his expense.

Now that he thought about it, Kouki wondered how is husband could stand being near him all this time? Because really, pregnancy made him completely nuts.

"Sei? How can you stand pregnant me?" Kouki just decided to ask one day.

"Hm?" Seijuurou hummed, putting away the dirty dishes into the sink. Even though they had some of the hired Akashi house staff, Kouki insisted that they should do some of the house chores once in a while.

"I just realized it now, but I've been acting pretty crazy these last few weeks and I can't understand why you still want to be around me." The omega pointed out. He was now 17 weeks pregnant and in his second trimester, but his mood swings were still wrecking havoc even now.

His husband gave him a fond smile as he moved away from the sink to wrap his arms around him. "Of course, Kouki. I'll always choose to be with you- whether you are smiling or upset, I love having you here beside me. Both of you beside me." He corrected as he included their baby, giving the brunette's back a gentle rub.

Kouki blushed, feeling tears well up in his eyes. Damn hormones. "R-really?" He sobbed, his words coming out in a stutter as he started to cry. "Even though I cry a lot and sometimes get mad at you over the littlest things?"

Seijuurou, already used to his husband's mood swings and knowing that these tears were not of sadness, took a tissue from his pocket (he learned that tissues were important to have around his emotional mate) and softly wiped the omega's tears away. "Always. I love you so much Kouki, and I am nothing but proud of how strong you are for carrying our child. How can I see you as anything less than perfect?"

The alpha smiled as he held his crying mate in his arms, rubbing the other's back as he whispered comforting words to him.

Kouki was super grateful to have Seijuurou beside him through this journey. Without his alpha, the brunette knew that he wouldn't be able to do this alone.

In fact, he was grateful to have all of his friends and family beside him to help and support him through this pregnancy.

When he announced that he was pregnant (via email) all his friends and family had gone wild and both Kouki and Seijuurou's phones and tablets were bombarded with congratulatory messages, frantic calls for who the godparents and favorite uncles/aunts would be, and texts filled with things ranging from helpful to horribly-graphic pregnancy info and unneeded sexual innuendos.

As Kouki's crying fit ended, suddenly his stomach gave a loud growl right then, making him blush while Seijuurou chuckled.

"Well, I think our pup is hungry, love. Shall we feed them?" Seijuurou offered, squeezing his husband's waist softly.

In the blink of a second, Kouki forgot about crying his eyes out just a minute ago and now he was back to his chipper, smiling self again. "Oh! Popcorn is definitely in the mood for some strawberry banana yogurt right now!" He gave his husband a starry-eyed hopeful look.

'Popcorn' was the temporary name for their baby which was decided when Kouki had first saw their pup during their first ultrasound visit and noted that the little blob-thingy on the screen that was their baby, kinda looked like a piece of popcorn.

The redhead laughed at his husband's cute expression and nodded his head, moving to get his pregnant mate his treat. "But only one, alright? Dinner is coming soon and I do not want you ruining your appetite." He told the other sternly.

Kouki snorted. "Sei, you and I both know that eating only one is impossible." He rolled his eyes at the ridiculous notion.

One other thing Kouki had experienced was pregnancy cravings.

He had felt a bit of these cravings here and there during the first trimester and they hadn't been too strong yet. Just a few food pairings they were a little odd, but nothing crazy.

But as soon as he shifted into his second trimester, he noticed two things- one, the god-awful morning (or more like all-day) sickness was finally gone and two, he had a HUGE craving of everything with yogurt and would DROP DEAD without it.

And these pregnancy cravings were no joke. Kouki's body absolutely craved yogurt and the omega had found himself eating everything with the substance.

A cake? He'd drizzle yogurt over it.

A salad? He'd used yogurt as its dressing.

A burger? He'd spoon yogurt right on the patty, mixing it with the ketchup and mustard and ate it just like that.

But what really weirded/disgusted everyone out was that Kouki didn't always use plain-flavored yogurt to mix with all these foods.

Sometimes he would top his grilled cheese with a nice amount of grape yogurt. He would eat rice and chicken together with a small container of green apple yogurt on the side. He would mix in cherry yogurt with his curry and add pickle relish to finish it off.

To Kouki, these dishes were worth five Michelin stars.

To Seijuurou, he suggested that maybe the pregnant omega let their chef handle all the cooking, just until the baby is born.

And the thing was, no one could argue about Kouki's choice of food craving- because yogurt was actually very good and highly recommended for pregnant people. Apparently yogurt was rich in protein, calcium, potassium, vitamins B12 and B2, magnesium and folic acid.

So being that yogurt was good for him, Kouki continued to happily eat all the coffee yogurt-covered orange slices and boiled eggs with lemon yogurt he wanted.

"And it doesn't even matter if I eat a lot or not- it's not like it'll show or anything." Kouki pouted, looking down at his still flat stomach.

During his pregnancy, Kouki's appetite had significantly increased more than usual. But no matter how much he ate, Kouki's stomach still looked the same. Sure, sometimes he would push out his stomach to make it look a little more rounded, but it just wasn't the same to actually having his belly normally round and hard to touch.

When he had admitted his worries to his doctor, Akira assured him that it was normal for first-time pregnancies to take a bit longer to show. And since Kouki's body was originally on the slender side, it would take some time for his belly to expand.

Seijuurou reached over to kiss the pout on his lips away. "It just takes time, love. Before you know it, your stomach will be nicely rounded with our pup." He assured him.

The brunette huffed, only feeling slightly better with the other's assurance. "Hmph. I just wish Popcorn would at least show themselves more- so I can at least look pregnant instead of looking like I only gained weight."

His alpha chuckled as he gave him a hug. "You absolutely do not look big, love. You look perfect."

Kouki still didn't look fully satisfied but decided to let the matter go as he stood from his chair. "Oh well. Anyway, I have to use the bathroom first- I'll be back." He gave his husband a small kiss on the cheek before leaving the room.

Seijuurou smiled after his mate for a moment before looking back and choosing which flavor yogurt his pregnant mate would be in the mood for.

Reading over the chef's menu for dinner, Seijuurou smiled in amusement at the fact that they were having Indian again tonight. Due to his husband's penchant to yogurt, all of their meals had focused mainly on Indian or Greek cuisine.

As he peeked at the yogurt rice boiling in one of the pots, the redhead jumped and became alerted when he heard his omega's sudden yells upstairs.

Rushing out of the room, the alpha sprinted up the steps and ripped open their bedroom door where he could sense his mate inside.

"Kouki! What wrong? Are you hurt?" He demanded, stalking inside their room and taking his husband (who was standing in front of a full mirror) in his arms as he frantically checked him for any wounds or injuries.

"Sei! Sei!" It was only when the redhead looked up that he realized that his husband wasn't in distress- in fact, the brunette's expression was one full of excitement and wonder.

Before Seijuurou could open his mouth to say anything, Kouki quickly released the other's arms from around him and moved away a little.

Facing to the side, Kouki quickly lifted his shirt with one hand and gestured to the mirror with his other. "Sei, LOOK! Look at this!"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Seijuurou did as his husband told and faced the mirror. He looked at his omega's reflection in confusion for a moment or two, not understanding what exactly he was being shown, but then after a while he saw it.

Right there, on Kouki's belly was a visible bump for the first time.

"You are pregnant." Seijuurou gasped, staring in fascination at the showing baby bump.

Kouki grinned widely. "I am! I finally got that thing they call the 'Pop'! Now that Popcorn decided to show themself, hopefully now people will recognized that I'm actually pregnant and not just fat." He said happily.

Seijuurou gulped as he reached over to place his palm gently over the small but very noticeable bump. "Popcorn is right here." He whispered, tone one full of reverence.

Kouki's face started to feel sore with how big his smile was stretching out his face as he giggled, placing his own hand over his husband's as they both held their baby together.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Sei?"

"Seeeiii?"

"Seeeeeiiiiii?"

Seijuurou let out a soft groan as he opened his eyes, shifting his head to the side to see his awake husband staring at him, wide eyes practically glowing in the dark as they stared back at him. "Hm? Kouki, what's wrong?" He yawned. Although the alpha already had a clue what the other would need at...2:07 in the morning.

Kouki beamed when he finally got his husband awake as he shook the alpha's arm to get the redhead's mind coherent faster. "Nikuman (meat buns)."

"Nikuman." The alpha yawned again, reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp to see the other more clearly.

"Nikuman." Kouki nodded, a very serious expression on his face.

Seijuurou looked at his mate with an patient expression, already highly experienced with his husband's late night cravings. "Kouki, remember how I told you that if you are having cravings, to please feel free to make a call to the house chef so she could cook and bring it to you?" He gently reminded the other.

The first time Kouki had gotten a late night craving, Seijuurou had carefully explained to the omega that it was the middle of the night and that the omega shouldn't be eating anything at that time.

The alpha soon learned to never deny his pregnant husband's cravings when his pregnant mate at that time had cried his eyes out so much that he had made himself sick the next day from both sadness and hunger.

So from then on, the redhead made sure to keep their personal cook on call at all times in case his mate craved something. And thankfully Kouki's late night cravings weren't too bad- all he needed was a few bites and then he was satisfied (which was good since overeating was also bad during pregnancy).

Kouki shook his head. "But I want nikuman from Lawson. Popcorn wants it too! Only there. Right, Popcorn?" He looked down at his belly, giving it a small rub, nodding his head as if their unborn baby verbally agreed with him.

"We don't want it from anyone or anywhere else." He begged his husband, giving the alpha a sad look.

Seijuurou sighed, trying to keep from smiling from how adorable his mate looked right now. "I'm sure Manami-san's nikuman is much better than those from a convenience store." He pointed out.

The brunette only looked sadder. "I'm sure they are...but Popcorn still wants the one from the convenience store more." He added, making the redhead chuckle. "If you don't want to come, I can just drive myself to the nearest Lawson that's about ten minutes away-"

"Absolutely not." Seijuurou immediately shot down, shaking his head in disapproval. The alpha remembered the near heart attack he had when he saw his pregnant mate driving to the post office during daylight. He can't imagine the horror of seeing his pregnant mate driving in the middle of the night.

Kouki didn't looked deterred by the refusal as he gave his husband a hopeful look. "So you'll come with me to buy it?" He blinked his eyes prettily at his husband.

Seijuurou let out a long sigh as he nodded his head in resignation. "Alright." He had to fight the smile that threatened to show when his omega cheered and gave him a big thank you kiss.

The couple just covered their pajamas in long coats and slipped on their shoes before leaving the house.

Seijuurou drove them to the convenience store and then the alpha stood near the check-out counter as he watched in amusement as his husband decided to pick out some ice cream to go with his meat buns.

The cashier, who had been reading a magazine at the counter when they arrived, let out a chuckle when he asked Seijuurou, "Is that your mate?"

Seijuurou nodded, his eyes still locked on his omega, watching in case the other slipped. "We're married." He replied.

The employee made an 'Ohhh...' sound as he added, "Is it a late-night craving? That would make your husband an omega, right?" He questioned, already used to seeing similar situations.

Again, the alpha nodded.

"Cool. Anyway, if he's anything like the other husbands and wives I see that come here during my night shifts, all I have to say is good luck on getting sleep for the next nine months man." The cashier said, looking in sympathy at the redhead.

Seijuurou gave a small smile as he watched his husband walked towards them with a small carton of chocolate frozen yogurt (of course) and a bag of spicy potato chips. "Thank you, but I am willing to do anything as long as my husband and our child is happy." He told the cashier, shifting to finally glance at the man.

The cashier grinned and shrugged his shoulder before turning his attention on the smiling omega in front of him.

Afterwards, the married couple left the store with Kouki wearing a satisfied look on his face as Seijuurou carried his bag full of meat buns, frozen yogurt, chips and even an added corndog as they headed home.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Kouki, are you ready to go?" Seijuurou called out to his husband, walking into their bedroom.

Kouki sat at the foot of the bed, a sock hanging halfway from his foot as the omega looked down with his hand on his rounded belly, wearing a gentle smile on his face. Seijuurou grinned at the sight.

Now at 20 weeks pregnant, Seijuurou would catch his husband cradling his showing pregnant belly or talking quietly to their pup about things that the alpha wasn't able to fully hear.

And these actions grew more frequent when Kouki had actually felt their baby move inside him for the first time about two weeks ago.

But it was the loving expression on his omega's face that made Seijuurou's heart melt at the sight of it. It showed exactly how happy Kouki was with carrying their child and it made the pregnancy glow surrounding him shine even more.

"Did something good happen?" Seijuurou came up to him.

At his husband's voice, Kouki looked up to see the redhead approaching him and the omega patted on the bed beside him for the other to sit. With a happy sigh, he said, "The pup is so active today- I think Popcorn is very excited for the ultrasound like we are." He rubbed his belly, feeling their child's little kicks.

When asked about how the kicks felt, Kouki answered that it felt like pulses- like when your heart beats but instead it's his belly that the beating is coming from.

The first time the brunette had felt their baby move was when they were having lunch with their friends at school. Yamaguchi had pouted- even Tsukishima was disappointed, though he didn't show it- when they couldn't feel anything when they touched his stomach (once he started showing, it was like everyone wanted to touch him- even his professors).

Kouki had only giggled at the time, kissing his own husband's disappointed look away as he pointed out to all of them that it would be a while until they could feel the kicks for themselves.

The redhead chuckled as he sat down, and kissed the other lightly on the lips. "We are very excited indeed. Dr. Akira mentioned during our last visit that we may be able to see the gender of our child this time." The redhead pointed out.

Kouki grinned, nearly bouncing on the bed in anticipation. "I know! I can't wait to find out!" The couple agreed that they wanted to know the gender as soon as possible (neither of them were the patient type anyway).

"Which would you prefer to have, love? A son or a daughter? " Seijuurou questioned, wrapping his arms around the other's waist as he rested his chin on his shoulder.

The brunette hummed as he looked thoughtful. "I don't know. I'd be fine with either to be honest, but I just pray that they're healthy." He admitted.

The redhead nodded in agreement. "I pray for so too. And gender matters little to me for I would be elated with either."

"But Masaomi-papa and nii-san have mentioned a few times about having a girl." Kouki pointed out.

"Indeed they have. Must be because both of our families are filled with only men." Seijuurou mused. "A girl would be a lovely addition to the Akashi clan, but a son would be just as wonderful."

They were quiet for a while, just enjoying the presence of the other, before Kouki suddenly let out a loud gasp as he folded over a bit. "Wow, that's a hard one. But maybe..." He trailed off as he slowly rolled up his shirt and took Seijuurou's palm and laid it directly on his bare stomach.

Seijuurou raised an eyebrow at his mate's actions, especially seeing the pensive look on the other's face, before he felt a small thump hit his hand just then.

Giving a loud gasp, the alpha looked at his now proud-looking mate with wide red eyes. "Was that our child just now?" He asked in astonishment, face full of awe.

His husband grinned as he nodded eagerly. "Finally, Popcorn can say hi to his daddy."

Seijuurou grinned back at his mate with an expression full of love as he pointed out. "Daddy, hm?" He repeated, giving the other's belly a few more rubs, delighted when it earned him a few more kicks to his palm.

Kouki nodded his head again. "Yup! You're daddy and I'm papa. I refuse to be called mama or mommy." He declared.

"Papa and daddy. That sounds nice." The alpha agreed.

They shared more kisses and Seijuurou coaxed out a few more kicks before Kouki's older brother and his brother-in-law Kouta arrived and interrupted their small family moment.

"Okay, stop with whatever questionable stuff you guys are doing in here and let's get going!" Kouta cheerfully yelled, barging into the couple's room with no hesitation.

The older Furihata had made sure to visit his younger brother and brother-in-law once a week since the omega first moved out. Sometimes Mibuchi would be there also during the visits. But when Kouki had announced his pregnancy, Kouta started visiting his baby brother 2-3 times per week instead.

And now, Kouta came over so he could drive them all to the hospital because he also wanted to be there at the ultrasound to see his niece/nephew for the first time (he was tired of only seeing the ultrasound pictures that his brother would show him before).

Kouki rolled his eyes at his brother while Seijuurou removed his hand from the omega's stomach and lowered the brunette's shirt once more. "Knock much, nii-san?" Kouki pointed out.

Kouta grinned as he held up his car keys, shaking them (he got the new car from Seijuurou and Masaomi for his last birthday). "Nope. I'll just leave all the 'knocking up' to you two." He winked.

Kouki groaned at the lame joke while Seijuurou bit his lip to keep from smiling.

"Please, stop nii-san. You're supposed to be setting a good example for your niece or nephew." The omega pleaded.

Kouta laughed as he waved his hand and turned to leave. "My niece is gonna love her Kouta-oji's jokes, just you wait!" His laughter could be heard as he went downstairs.

Kouki shook his head at his brother as he let his husband help him up and finish changing.

Arriving at the hospital, they were pleasantly surprised when they were greeted by one of their dearest friends.

"Yo! Akashi, Kou-mama and Furi-nii!" Takao grinned at them as he directed them towards the waiting room.

Kouki blushed as he gave his friend a hard frown. "How many times have I told you to not call me that?"

Takao had surprised everyone (minus Midorima who was already aware of his boyfriend's intelligence despite his easygoing personality) when the hawk player announced that he had gotten into Tokyo University, the same college as both the Akashi couple and his tsundere boyfriend.

Takao had also went into the medical field as his doctor boyfriend. But since Takao loved children, he decided to take up nursing and aimed to be a pediatric nurse.

(But secretly, his ultimate goal was to be working side by side together with his future-doctor boyfriend, and he had been dropping subtle hints to the green-haired tsundere that the other should become a pediatrician).

Unfortunately, due to heavy classes and their duties at the hospital, Takao and Midorima was unable to hang out with Kouki and Akashi as much as they would like to- but they were able to have lunch altogether about once a week.

When Kouki had become pregnant, Takao was giddy over the fact that his omega friend would be having his checkups and most likely be giving birth at the very hospital he was interning in. So of course that meant....

"For the last time, you are NOT going to be anywhere near me when I give birth, let alone actually being the one to deliver my baby." Kouki repeated once again, his voice serious and 100% full of no nonsense.

Takao, as usual, didn't look deterred by this as he only grinned. "But I've been known to having the 'magic touch' for laboring patients 'down there'." He insisted, wiggling his fingers suggestively.

It was Seijuurou this time to put his foot down. "You are banned from being inside Kouki's room during the entire laboring and delivering process." He vowed. No one was allowed to see his husband's 'downstairs' other than him as their attending physician.

The beta gave them a cheeky wink. "You say that now, but when Kou-mama here is screaming bloody murder with his legs spread open as your pup's head is ripping its way out of his bleeding opening-"

"Takao!" Seijuurou and Kouta both shouted. Seijuurou gave the beta a dark glare before calming his pale-looking husband.

"Ah, sorry- sometimes us nursing students can get a little detailed when we describe stuff. But really, it's better to know what to expect now- if there's something I learned about pregnancy and labor, it's that the most terrifying thing about the birthing experience is the unknown and being unprepared." Takao informed them, giving Kouki a rare, genuine apologetic smile.

Kouki took a deep breath, shaking his head at the horrifying images that had entered his mind. "I do have a basic understanding of how it will go. Midorima-sensei told Sei and I some of the things we should expect. And we even got some helpful advice and recommendations for some birthing classes from Yuuri-kun and Victor-kun that they said would be of great help to us."

The couple decided to take birthing classes and opted out of the newborn care class- Kouki already had experience with handling tiny babies in the past and he had faith that Seijuurou would be able to handle it as well (the redhead did well watching over Midorima's little sister Chiasa anyway).

"Oh, so you're given the okay to give birth the normal way?" The beta asked curiously.

Kouki nodded as memories of his first official appointment after confirming that he was indeed pregnant entered his mind.

He remembered how awkward and mortified he felt when Akira gently informed him that she would be doing an internal examination and exactly what that had entailed.

Apparently, it was common for pregnant people to have internal examinations during their first appointment- it was so the doctor could check if the cervix had been sealed with the mucus plug and that there are no signs of infection.

Also, for male omegas, this was also to check whether it would be okay for them to give birth by the normal delivery or if they needed to have a c-section done (this was because 50% of male omegas tended to have more narrower hips than females, which would make pushing the baby from down there more difficult).

Akira assured him that she would only be doing it one time for the first appointment and then the next internal exam would be during his last trimester already- around 36 weeks and then it would be weekly checking from there.

Having someone poking inside of his 'downstairs' area was extremely uncomfortable and he nearly had a panic attack at the intrusion (he really missed being able to take his anxiety pills, but knew that they could potentially harm their baby).

Thankfully, Seijuurou had been by his side (the alpha was always there during every appointment he had) as his husband held his hand and whispered soothing words to calm the omega down and to not tighten up his lower half.

Akira happily informed them that Kouki's body would accommodate the baby well and that his hips were the perfect width to push a baby out between him.

Kouki honestly didn't know whether he should take that as a compliment or not.

But he and Seijuurou did agree that giving birth normally would be the more safer way to go- and the health and welfare of their pup and Kouki himself was all that really mattered in the end.

Takao was about to open his mouth again before he was suddenly interrupted by another voice. "Takao! What are you doing slacking off over here?"

The beta brightened as he turned around and waved happily at his frowning boyfriend who was approaching all of them. "Shin-chan!" He chirped gleefully.

Midorima nodded at the other three before giving his own boyfriend a look of disapproval. "Daigo-sensei has been asking for you. It's Haruna-chan's time to bathe and Natsu-san has mentioned that her newborn has been coughing lately- interview her for more details and take the infant's vital signs." He ordered.

Takao gave him a salute as he winked and grinned widely. "You got it, Doc!" Takao waved goodbye to everyone else and with one loud kiss on his flabbergasted boyfriend's pinked cheek, the beta scurried off to do his work.

Midorima grumbled under his breath, something about his boyfriend not paying mind to their environment, before sighing as he turned to the others.

"How are you and your child, Furihata?" Midorima asked the omega.

The brunette gave him a small smile as he nodded his head and cradled his belly. "I'm doing well and the baby has been quite lively today- even Sei got to feel the pup's kicks for the first time this morning!" He replied excitedly, smiling brightly at his little bump. Since they had arrived at the hospital, the little one had been kicking quite frequently.

"What?! Seriously?! I wanna feel my niece too!" Kouta exclaimed, rushing to his brother's side and placing a hand on his rounded stomach.

They all waited for a few seconds before Kouta gasped when he felt a 'thump' hit his hand. "Oh my god! I just felt her!" He hissed full of awe.

Midorima raised his eyebrows at that. "Your child is female?"

Seijuurou was the one to answer. "The gender of our pup has not been confirmed yet, although Kouta-niisan is fairly positive that the baby is a female." He explained.

Kouki rolled his eyes as he took his brother's roaming hands off his stomach. "Nii-san is so positive that the baby's a girl that I can't help but feel that we're definitely having a boy." He teased.

"Nope! My niece is definitely inside of you right now." The older alpha crowed.

The omega snorted. "We'll see." Turning to Midorima, he smiled and said, "Whether this child is a boy or a girl, I'm sure that they will be loved either way. By the way Midorima-kun, would you like to feel the baby as well?" He offered.

The green-haired beta looked caught off guard for a second before trying to fix his composure and he slowly shook his head, "Ah, no. I will respectfully decline your offer, Furihata. Well, I have many things to do and I should leave now..." The other three watched the awkward alpha back away in amusement.

At that moment, a nurse came up to the group to inform them that the doctor will see them now.

Relieved, Midorima bid them all farewell before fleeing away.

The trio followed the nurse down the corridor, and before entering their doctor's office, the nurse checked Kouki's vital signs and made sure he had completely voided before letting them into Midorima Akira's office.

"Seijuurou-kun and Kouki-kun, it's a pleasure to see you both again. Do you feel any changes regarding the baby, Kouki-kun?" Akira greeted them warmly as they entered her office.

Kouki shook his head as Seijuurou pulled out a chair and ushered his pregnant mate to take a seat. "We're both fine- in fact, Sei and my brother was able to feel Popcorn kick for the first time today! It was so exciting! Oh, and I brought my brother with us because he wanted to see the ultrasound and find out the gender too. I hope that is okay?"

Akira nodded. "That will be fine. Well, shall we start then?"

They were led into a darkened room where Kouki was helped onto one of those examination beds and laid down.

Akira lifted up his shirt so his belly was showing. Kouki flinched a little when the cold gel was applied on but Seijuurou held his hand to relax him again. Even though this wasn't the first ultrasound they did, Kouki was sure he would never get used to the coldness of that gel.

The doctor moved the probe over Kouki's gel-covered stomach while she typed things on her computer and looked over at the monitor that was faced towards her only.

The pup is very active today." She exclaimed when she felt constant kicks underneath.

Kouki grinned, "They must be as excited as we are to know their gender."

Finally, Akira must have gotten what she was looking for, and she carefully turned turned the screen to let the rest of them watch.

"Oh, there's our baby!" Kouki cooed, feeling himself tear up as the monitor presented them a clear image (well, the outline was clear) of Seijuurou's and his baby.

During their first ultrasound, the married couple was equally as amazed at the image of their child, even though they only saw a small popcorn-looking thing on the screen. But at least, that little popcorn was proof that their baby was alive and growing.

But now, they could see their baby's actual head, body...even the shape of their tiny nose and lips.

"Our pup has your nose, love." Seijuurou noted, his voice full of pride as he stared at the monitor.

"And your chin, Sei!" Kouki sniffled, feeling his emotions going haywire again.

"Midorima-sensei? Can you tell the gender right now?" Kouta asked, his eyes wide as he stared at his niece (or nephew) for the first time.

Akira nodded, giving them a wide grin. "Yes, I can tell. Would you like to know the gender of your baby, Seijuurou-kun and Kouki-kun?" She asked.

The expecting parents looked at each other as they communicated silently for a minute before turning to the doctor and nodding. "Yes, we are ready. If you would please, Midorima-sensei?" Seijuurou held Kouki's hand tighter as they looked at her in anticipation.

Akira took a deep breath before announcing. "Congratulations, you are having a lovely little boy."

Everyone in the room gasped. "Sei! It's a boy! Popcorn is a 'he'!" Kouki cried excitedly, tears dripping from his eyes even more.

Seijuurou was tearing up as well but there was a large smile on his face as he turned to gently wipe away his husband's tears. "Yes, love. We are having a son."

"A nephew, huh?" Kouta sighed, but curiously he wasn't as disappointed as one may have expected. "Oh well, I guess the male genes run too deep in our lineage. I suppose I could teach the little critter about cars and sports too- that'll be fun." With a large grin, Kouta nodded. "Yeah, a boy will be great- I'll definitely have fun teaching him all sorts of things. Oh! Gotta tell Reo and Masaomi about this!" He remembered as he pulled out his phone and excitedly began dialing.

The doctor decided to leave the little family to themselves as she left to get the ultrasound photos that they would most likely ask for.

"Thank you Kouki." Seijuurou leaned down to give his husband a deep kiss before sliding his hand down to place a more gentle but equally loving touch to his mate's baby bump that held their precious child inside.

Kouki leaned into Seijuurou's embrace as they both stared at the monitor, their son, with full hearts and watery smiles.

Kouki sobbed when he saw his son's hand, tiny fingers and all, show up in the monitor. "Sei, he's waving at us."

Seijuurou leaned in and softly kissed his belly, not even caring about the gel. Then the alpha straightened up to place another soft kiss on his crying mate's forehead, "Yes, he is Kouki. Our son is."

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

"Kouki? Are you ready to leave?" Seijuurou called, walking into their bedroom.

The redhead was greeted with the sight of his pregnant mate sitting on their bed, shirt in hand and jeans unzipped, while the omega frowned deeply down at his protruding 27 week old belly.

"What's wrong?" The redhead asked walking into the room and wrapping an arm around his beloved's shoulders.

The brunette huffed as he pouted up at his husband. "Sei. I'm fat."

Seijuurou knew that he shouldn't, but he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as he pulled the grumbling other closer to place a small kiss on his cheek. "You are not fat, love. You are pregnant, remember?" He reminded.

Kouki didn't look appeased as he only pouted harder. "I'm pregnant." He nodded. "And I'm also fat." He finished, glaring down at the shirt that refused to stay over his bulging belly and the jeans that were too stubborn to button up.

Even though the omega knew that this day would come, he had still hoped that maybe his loose shirts and baggy pants would work during his entire pregnancy. And his back up plan would be Sei's clothes in case he had outgrown his own (thank god he and his husband were almost similar sizes when it came to clothing).

But no. Instead, the fertility gods had to slap him in the face and now Kouki had no useable clothes to go out in.

It's not like he could go out to the birthing class in his sweats and the over-large tshirt that he liked to wear to sleep.

And he completely forgot that Seijuurou's fancy-schmancy fashion style wouldn't suit or accommodate his behemoth-sized belly very well.

"I'm huge and so fat!" Kouki moaned, closing his eyes and drooping over the other. "Why, Popcorn, why do you want to make papa look like a whale?" He groused, rubbing his protruding belly mournfully.

Seijuurou chuckled once more before holding the other up and making sure the brunette was looking at him. "You are not fat Kouki. And I am sure Popcorn agrees with me also. In fact, everyone has said that pregnancy really suits you." He pointed out.

Kouki looked down, not saying anything to that.

It was true that mostly everyone that passed by the pregnant male omega would coo and compliment him for how good he looked.

Unlike some pregnant people who would gain weight all over their body, Kouki was one of the lucky few whose body majority pretty much stayed the same.

Sure, maybe his thighs was a tad bit bigger and his hips had gotten an inch wider to accommodate giving birth, but other than that, all the weight he had gained was solely in his belly.

And he had to admit, his pregnancy belly was pretty cute. Especially with the way it went outwards. He found out that with the right type of clothing, others couldn't even tell he was pregnant unless they looked at him from the side- from the front, he looked normal as usual.

"My belly is still huge though." The omega muttered, still more than a little upset.

Seijuurou rubbed his back, making the omega sigh as it also helped massage out a bit of the aches that he had started to feel that morning. "I love your stomach and it is proof that our son is in there, growing slowly inside of you until the day he will join us out here and be nestled into our arms. Don't you love that too, Kouki?" He asked gently.

Kouki felt better when Seijuurou put it that way and he nodded as he nuzzled closer into his mate's neck, his alpha's scent calming him even more. "I do."

Sighing loudly, Kouki added, "I just wish that I could find something that can cover all of...this." He gestured towards his pregnant belly.

Seijuurou gave his baby bump a soft kiss, smiling when he felt the pup kick back, before helping his husband stand up before giving the omega a hug. "I love your stomach- it's adorable and our son is in there. But I am sure that your sweatpants and one of my large t-shirts would be acceptable for the class. I am positive the other expectant couples will understand your situation. Afterwards, I promise that we shall make a stop to pick out some maternity clothes for you to wear." He reassured his spouse.

Kouki made a face at that but headed towards his closet to grab the largest sweatpants he owned, "I'm still not sure about the whole maternity clothes thing, Sei. But I guess it's better than wearing only sweatpants for the next 13 weeks." He conceded.

After getting dressed, the couple drove towards the center where their birthing classes were being held.

Kouki looked around the room with wide eyes as he never saw so many pregnant mothers all in one place. And he even spotted two pregnant male omegas as well!

Taking two mats and setting them at the front of the class (Seijuurou insisted that they would learn more this way) one of the pregnant mothers beside Kouki cooed and said, "Oh, you look quite young, dear. This must be your first, hm?" She pointed out, giving Kouki a friendly smile.

The brunette shyly nodded as he held his stomach gently in his hands. For weeks since he started showing, the omega found himself doing this action- holding, cradling his stomach- quite often. "Yeah, me and my husband are excited to meet our son soon." He said softly.

"Aww, a boy! I have a son myself." Another lady, a pregnant beta, exclaimed. "He's turning four next month. This little one here is our second and I'm hoping for a little girl this time." She sighed wistfully.

"I want a girl too!" Another pregnant beta, quite young-looking, chimed in. "My boyfriend's rooting for a boy but I just don't know how to raise a boy. I rather have a girl and it would be so much fun dressing her up and doing all sorts of girly things with her." She gushed.

"This is my fifth...and sixth kids, I suppose- twins, a boy and a girl." One of the pregnant male omegas, an older man around his 30's informed them. All the other mothers, including Kouki, oohed and awed at that, some congratulating him while others told him they wished they could also push out both genders at once and get two birds with one stone. "My husband and I can't wait- this is the first time we've had twins." The older male omega smiled.

All the pregnant people chatted with one another while Seijuurou and the other partners watch them all with amused looks while exchanging some of their own experiences about some of the crazy things their pregnant mates had done.

"My husband had a bit of an depressed moment earlier from no longer fitting his pre-pregnancy clothes anymore." Seijuurou mentioned.

The other partners nodded in sympathy and understanding, "I get it man- my wife nearly burned our closet down when none of her skirts fit anymore." Another male alpha agreed.

"My mate was the opposite- he nearly bought out the entire maternity section at the mall before he was even showing." A female alpha shook her head.

"Who here had to wake up at God-knows-what-time to hit the grocery store to buy their partner some food they were craving?" A beta called out.

All of the partners raised their hands in unison before competing to see whose partner had the weirdest craving so far. (Seijuurou became thankful that Kouki had never experienced any cravings like kusaya-dipped peach pudding before).

Soon, their instructor walked in and all the couples went to their places as the class started.

Kouki sat between his husband's arms and legs on the mat as they listened to the instructor's lecture about the signs of labor, the normal progress of labor and birth, techniques for coping with pain and when to call your doctor or midwife when you feel like you're going into labor. Seijuurou listened extra closely when the instructor told the partners on how they could help their pregnant partners during the labor and how to properly support them.

Kouki held Seijuurou's hand tightly when the instructor warned them about some of the common childbirth complications that may occur and how they should be handled. The brunette knew that there was always a possibly that something could go wrong, but he couldn't even imagine what he would do if anything ever happened to their little boy.

Afterwards, they were shown some videos that showed actual real life scenarios and situations of how a normal birth and a caesarean delivery would go.

Kouki became 10x more scared about giving birth now.

Fortunately after the traumatizing videos, the instructor moved on to the breathing excercises, which really helped calm down the male omega significantly.

"So the 'hee-hee, haa-haa' breathing technique that is usually depicted on media is actually not what is recommended in laboring and birthing situations." The instructor informed them.

"What's recommended is the patterned breathing technique. This means that it depends on what breathing style you find would make you feel more calm- whether it's deep breathing through the diaphragm to fill your stomach with air or light breathing where you take in just enough air to fill up your chest. But the ultimate goal is to find a breathing pattern that has a calming and relaxing effect for your pregnant mate.

"Now partners, please hold onto your mates and help them by trying to sync your breathing with theirs. Hopefully by feeling you breathing will urge your pregnant partner to follow and breathe at the same rate as you. Now began. In...." She demonstrated, taking a deep breath.

"Kouki, why are you laughing?" Seijuurou whispered inside his husband's ear, his voice full of amusement.

Kouki giggled as he shook his head. "I can't help it- this breathing thing is funny to me for some reason!" He whispered back, giggling even more.

"Akashi-sama's, please join the rest of the class in breathing." The instructor told them politely.

"Yes ma'am. Kouki, now breathe in..." Seijuurou then took a deep breath himself.

Kouki tried to follow his mate, but for some reason he couldn't help but laugh at hearing his alpha breathing so loudly next to him. This whole situation was just so...hilariously ridiculous to him for some reason.

Really, actually learning how to breathe?

"Oh god, I can't-" Kouki laughed, turning his head so he could muffle some of his giggling into his husband's chest.

After another set of failed attempts, the couple decided to pause for now since Kouki's laughter was so infectious that Seijuurou began to join in as well.

"Well, at least you got him less anxious and scared- which is what we ultimately aim for in the end. So who knows? Maybe you'll both be lucky and you'll end up making him laugh throughout the whole labor and delivery process instead." The instructor grinned at her giggling students, finding the young married couple adorable.

Through all his giggles, Kouki honestly wished for that lovely scenario as well.

After the class, Seijuurou decided to take his mate to a nice bistro where they enjoyed some lunch before heading to the store for some maternity clothes shopping.

"I don't even know what maternity clothing for male omegas even looks like." Kouki sighed as he ate his grilled greek chicken pasta salad with a large side order of pita and tzatziki. Popcorn was most likely taking a nap right about then since his tummy was behaving for once.

"That's alright, love." Seijuurou assured him, reaching over to wipe away a dab of tzatziki dripping from his omega's bottom lip. "That is why I called one of our friends who would be a great help in finding the perfect clothing for you." He told him.

Kouki questioned the redhead about who he had called, but all Seijuurou would tell him was that it would be a surprise and that the person would be meeting up with them at the store.

After lunch, they decided to walk there since it was close by. Kouki blushed as he felt like everyone's eyes following him, or mainly at his stomach. Feeling a bit self-conscious, the omega placed a protective hand over his belly, giving it a few rubs when he felt Popcorn wake up and begin to kick again.

Seijuurou walked like he normally did, full of confidence, as he kept one arm around his husband and child. The aura around the redhead pretty much alluded how proud he was that this was his mate and that they were with child.

Stopping a few times by some passerbys (mainly older women) who would coo at the pregnant Kouki, the couple finally made it to the store and the omega was delighted to find who was standing at the front, waiting for them.

"Kou-chan! Sei-chan!" Mibuchi called out to them happily, waving his arms as if to make sure he would be spotted.

"Reo-nee, you're here!" Kouki scurried forward the last few steps before giving his soon-to-be brother(sister?)-in-law a huge hug.

About two years ago, Kouta finally had gotten the guts to go down on one knee and proposed to his beta boyfriend.

And of course, Mibuchi had squealed and sobbed at the same time as he tackled his boyfriend and repeatedly shouted out 'YES' between kisses.

Mibuchi and Kouta's wedding date had originally been set for September of this year (Mibuchi already had fall wedding boards all set for them on Pinterest) but when they later learned that Kouki was pregnant, they decided to hold off the wedding until the baby was born (afterwards, Mibuchi immediately began to look up all the latest trends for winter weddings or possibly a Valentine's Day wedding instead).

"Reo, how is your business going?" Seijuurou asked him, patting his friend's back as he let the tall beta hug him as well.

Mibuchi let go of the redhead and gave them both a wide grin. "Reo Radieux is doing great! After getting that two-page article in Bridal Japan Magazine, the calls for appointments have been going through the roof! And I've even got some non-wedding event parties requests as well!"

Reo had opened his own party events business and it's been steadily growing as it received more spotlight and recognition. And when Kouta, a mechanical engineer, wasn't too busy from creating the latest Japan products, he would help out his fiancé in his business.

"Oh, but if you've been too busy then you didn't need to come here-" Kouki started, sounding worried but Mibuchi quickly shushed him.

"Nonsense, Kou-chan! I'm never too busy for you and Sei-chan! And I'll always make time in my schedule for clothes shopping." The beta winked at him, making the omega feel better. "Now, how's my nephew doing?" He asked excitedly.

Seijuurou placed a soft hand over his husband's rounded belly with a gentle look on his face. "Our son has been doing well."

Mibuchi aww'd as he excitedly placed his hand to feel the baby bump- with permission from Kouki and Seijuurou, of course- and nearly squealed in delight when he felt the pup kick.

After catching up, the three finally entered the store and Kouki looked around to see that this store not only sold maternity clothes, but that there were a lot of baby stuff as well.

"Have you two gone baby shopping yet?" Mibuchi questioned as one of the sales associates led them towards the male/unisex maternity section.

Kouki sighed. "Oh, yeah. We did." He shook his head at the memory.

Neither of the couple wanted to buy any baby things until their baby's gender was revealed (they didn't want everything to be in neutral colors of yellow and green).

So a few days after they found out that they are having a boy, the couple was actually accompanied by Masaomi to buy the essential things and equipment for their little one.

"Masaomi-papa, Popcorn doesn't need a solid gold rocking horse." Kouki had insisted when his father-in-law tried to purchase the ridiculous-looking thing.

Masaomi looked disappointed when the sales associate returned it to the back of the store for safe keeping. "I suppose you are right. A pure-bred stallion would be much more fitting for my grandson." He nodded in agreement.

The omega sweatdropped at that. "Maybe we should wait until the pup is at least walking before you buy him a horse?" He suggested weakly.

"Kouki, come look at this." Seijuurou came up beside him and showed the item in his hand.

"Very nice, son." Masaomi approved, very pleased.

Kouki on the other hand looked at the price tag and blanched. "We are NOT buying our baby a ¥50,000 ($450) rattle." He was close to pulling his hair out at this point- and they've only been in the store for less than ten minutes.

Seijuurou frowned as he looked at the admittedly cute, pure silver rattle in his hand. "Oh, I see. Would gold be better, perhaps?" He asked, looking thoughtful.

Baby shopping felt like it went on forever that day.

But thankfully, Kouki managed to convince the father-son duo that the quality of a product didn't always mean it needed a high price attached to it.

They had picked out all the important baby things that they would need- like pacifiers, baby wraps, bottles and breast pumps (though Kouki wasn't sure if he would even be using that), blankets, burp cloths and a shipload of diapers. And all they managed to agree on some amazing baby equipment- like a car stroller with car seat, a blooming baby bath, an antique but elegant-looking baby crib and many more.

But there were two things that Kouki couldn't help but go against his own principles and buy a ton of stuff of.

One was clothes.

"This is so soft!" Kouki cooed over the white fleece material.

"Would you like to get that, Kouki?" His mate asked, adding another outfit of his own choosing into their cart (this one solely for clothes).

The omega nodded, but frowned at something in the other's hand. "Sei, you can't be serious."

"What?" Seijuurou paused, looking confused.

Kouki raised his eyebrow as he gestured towards the outfit in the alpha's hand. "No baby should be subjected to wear a suit before the age of one." He pointed to the [mini suit](https://mosaic01.ztat.net/vgs/media/pdp-gallery/S1/52/4D/02/QK/11/S1524D02Q-K11@8.jpg) that the redhead was holding (it was cute, but still...).

Seijuurou furrowed his eyebrows at his own baby clothing of choice before turning back to the brunette. "I hardly would consider this a suit." He pointed out.

"It has a bow tie and vest- it's close enough." The brunette told him flatly.

"There is nothing wrong with my wanting our child to be dressed impeccably well." His alpha defended.

"Popcorn is not wearing a stuffy baby suit." Kouki insisted.

"It is not stuffy- and there is clearly a bear on it right here for the young factor."

"I don't care if there's a bear- it's still too grown-up for an infant to wear."

Seijuurou did not take that lying down, of course. "Well, at least our son will still look like a human being in my clothing." He shot back.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

The redhead looked at the clothes in his husband's hands with a pointed look. "All the clothes you have picked out for our child so far resemble animals." He told him.

Kouki pouted, tightening his hold on the cute [lamb outfit](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/25/68/8a/25688a287362005cdf4a41eb73933e67--baby-lamb-costume-baby-costumes.jpg) in his hand and pushing the lion and monkey clothing more into the cart. "It's adorable!" He argued.

His husband nodded. "It is...if it was for a pet, not a human child. And definitely not for our son."

The married couple narrowed their eyes at each other.

After making sure that the things he had secretly purchased would be sent straight to his sons' home, Masaomi returned to see that his son and son-in-law were in the middle of a heated argument.

"May I inquire what you two are in disagreement over?" The older alpha questioned, watching his son-in-law wearing an irritated expression, but soon it brightened when he saw him.

"Oh, Masaomi-papa! You can help us by choosing which of our outfits are better!" Kouki said, holding up the animal clothing in his hands. "Don't you think that your grandson would look adorable in this [panda outfit](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1Wy4gIXXXXXamXFXXq6xXFXXXA/2016-new-panda-overall-animal-rompers-cartoon-boy-girl-jump-suit-winter-flannel-plush-infant-clothes.jpg)?" He wiggled the cute black, furry panda tail attached to the outfit to show it off.

"Father, you must agree that this attire is much more suitable for an Akashi." Seijuurou held up a baby onesie that resembled a [tuxedo](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1135/1442/products/tuxedoonesie_large.png?v=1457114559)\- the onesie was colored gray with a decent looking black vest...but the green bow tie and buttons were a complete eyesore.

The older alpha looked at both boy's choices with distain- were his choices really between an animal suit and a tacky baby tux?

Obviously, the Akashi head mentally decided that he would be needing to make a few phone calls to have someone handle his grandson's clothing so that the poor child will at least have some decent clothes to wear.

"To be honest, both of your choices are quite...heinous to be putting it lightly. God help my grandson if he will be forced into either of those monstrosities." Masaomi shook his head as both his sons looked at him with matching affronted expressions.

After choosing out some more questionable outfits (Kouki and Seijuurou insisted on buying whatever they thought would look good on their son while Masaomi merely grimaced at their choices) the second thing Kouki couldn't help but buy was toys, toys and more toys!

"Oh! Look at this!" The pregnant omega's eyes were sparkling as he held up a stuffed bear dressed as a Shinkansen train. "This [Rilakkuma Shinkansen](http://www.supercutekawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/rilakkuma1-475x380.jpg) is so cute!" He gushed.

Seijuurou chuckled as he watched his mate fill yet another cart with every single type of stuffed bear train in the shop.

Thankfully, there was less arguments about baby toys then there was about clothes. The couple had chosen some educational toys to help stimulate their son's young mind- like playing blocks, shape cubes and children books that made the brunette squeal at how cute they were.

Now they were choosing out some stuffed dolls that hopefully their baby would enjoy and could snuggle up to.

Something yellow caught the redhead's eye. "What do you think about this one?" He grabbed the stuffed toy nearby and showed it to the other.

Kouki gasped as he dropped the doll that was in his hands and reached out to take the toy from his husband. "Oh my god, it's Popcorn!" He exclaimed in shock.

Seijuurou gave his mate a fond look and hugged the omega to his side when he saw the other sniffle at the cute [popcorn plushie](https://img0.etsystatic.com/133/1/6291024/il_570xN.906680944_sic9.jpg). It was perfect for their little Popcorn.

The couple held each other for a few more moments before Masaomi came back from wherever he went off to show them an impressive [mini train](https://cdn.rosenberryrooms.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/u/bumble-bee-train-pedal-car-10_1.jpg) that their son could actually ride.

And of course, knowing Kouki's extreme love for trains, the omega couldn't refuse- the brunette actually had his own luxury model train set that took up a whole room inside the main mansion and that was one of the few things that Kouki had received easily from the Akashi's with no arguments about the price.

"I wish Kouki-kun accepted things like he accepts trains." Masaomi sighed wistfully while Seijuurou only chuckled, but also in agreement with his father.

If Kouki accepted things as easily as he did his trains, then buying stuff for the omega would make life a lot more easier.

But then again, his frugality was one of Kouki's charm points and Seijuurou wouldn't want to change a thing about his beloved.

Mibuchi giggled as Kouki finished telling him about their first baby shopping adventure, the beta skimmed through the rack of clothes in front of him. "Aww...the baby shopping sounds fun. I wish I could go too." The beta sighed, wishing his schedule wasn't too busy.

Kouki nodded, making a face at a girly-looking top before putting it away. "And that was only the first time. I went baby shopping a few more times after- sometimes by myself, sometimes with Sei, and even a few times with some of the guys."

He still remembered how Kawahara picked out the most useless baby things imagineable- although he was grateful that his best bud had went shopping with him despite his own busy college schedule in becoming a school nurse, Kouki still thought that buying a 'wipe warmer' was dumb.

His other best bud, Fukuda, was much more useful. The beta had come all the way from his college in Miyagi- he was studying to be a PE teacher- with his girlfriend Saeko and the two helped him pick out some decent baby clothes for Popcorn.

Even Kuroko (who was studying to be a kindergarten teacher), his boyfriend Ogiwara (who had taken over his family's dojo and was now teaching kendo) and they even ran into Momoi (who being very intelligent and sports-oriented, was taking up a science and technology course in order for her to make improvements on some of the physiotherapy technology that were being used today) helped pick out some of the things they would need for the baby's nursery.

Speaking of the nursery room, it was currently being kept under wraps from Kouki until the room was complete. Or until the brunette was nearing his due date. Seijuurou loved his surprises and Kouki let his husband indulge and refrained from even peeking into the closed-off room just yet.

Mibuchi nodded, picking out one more sweater before shooing the pregnant omega into the dressing rooms. "Okay, try these on and then come out to show us." He said, brimming with excitement.

When Kouki appeared with the first outfit, automatically Mibuchi and Seijuurou could see the uncomfortable look on the brunette's face. "Are you alright, love?" Seijuurou asked him worriedly.

The omega bit his lip as he nodded slowly. "I don't really want to wear a dress."

"It's not a dress- it's a maternity onepiece and it's specifically made for both females and males." The beta assured him.

But Kouki still looked awkward. "Um, I still don't like this . I mean, it's open and it feels loose and easy to move around in, but I just feel weird about feeling the breeze between my legs here. And it makes me feel so big. I'm just not used to it." He admitted.

Seijuurou nodded. "It is fine if you do not like it Kouki. You are free to wear whatever clothing you feel most comfortable in." he assured his husband.

Feeling better, Kouki went back into the changing room. After a few minutes, the omega appeared again but this time he was wearing a grey long sleeve with black at the end of the sleeves and some blue jeans with a stretchable waistband that fitted him just right.

"Wow. You look great Kou-chan!" Mibuchi gushed, clapping his hands excitedly.

Seijuurou grinned as he nodded. "You always look wonderful love, but that looks stunning."

Kouki blushed at their praise but smiled at he looked at himself in the mirror. For the past months, he had understandably felt self-conscious about how big he was getting. Even though he was happy that his baby was growing up healthily, and with all the kind compliments he had gotten from other people about how good he looked pregnant, he still couldn't help but see himself as fat when he looked at his reflection.

But now... "I actually look pregnant now. Like, it's obvious that I have a baby here and it's not just me gaining weight." The omega admitted, cradling his baby bump that was now sticking out proudly for the whole world to see.

Mibuchi grinned. "That's right! The best way to dressed a pregnant person is to show off their lovely baby bump- that's so it can show everyone how well your baby is growing. Also, it looks like you're pregnant and not like you just ate a big meal." He winked, completely understanding the omega's dilemma.

Kouki chuckled as he nodded.

The beta clapped his hands as he got up and ushered Kouki into the changing room to try on more clothing.

"And you're lucky, Kou-chan! Since the ending of your pregnancy will be during the chilly months, you won't be at risk of overheating like most pregnancy people do during the latter part of their pregnancies and you'll be able to wear a lot of cute cardigans and fluffy jackets too! It'll be fabulous!"

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

Kouki eyed his husband's green tea sundae, even as he took a large spoonful of his own strawberry honey balsamic ice cream sprinkled with black pepper on top (yes, he didn't order the frozen yogurt for once but his companions still made faces at his choice of ice cream flavor).

Seijuurou took a bite of his own cold treat before noticing his pregnant mate's intense stare. "Love, you know that green tea makes you ill." He reminded his husband gently, knowing what was going on in the omega's head.

The brunette nodded, but still didn't move his laser focus from the green dessert. "I know." Even at 31 weeks, Kouki still couldn't stand anything with green tea in it. But at least now, he was able to look at the green color and not want to puke at the mere sight.

"Kouki..." The redhead raised his eyebrow at his husband.

But the omega stayed quiet, silently debating if he should chance a taste or not. He actually missed green tea and maybe now that he could handle looking at it again, maybe he would be able to at least taste it once again?

Their friends who were sitting at the same table merely looked at them with amusement as they watched the exchange, observing the disapproving look on Seijuurou's face while Kouki looked concentratedly at the green ice cream.

There was a bell ringing and Momoi's voice sounded immediately, "We're here! Sorry we're late but it was all Ki-chan's fault!" She apologized as she waved at them.

Kise pouted right behind her. "It was all Oizumi-sensei's fault for scheduling our make-up exam on a Sunday." He argued.

"Isn't it then your fault for needing to do a make-up exam in the first place?" Midorima raised an eyebrow at the blonde, making the beta stick his tongue out at him in reply.

Kise and Momoi attended the same school as Kuroko. Kuroko was in the education department, Momoi in the science department and Kise, also in the science department but focused on aviation to become an airline pilot. Although all their courses differed, they still found time to hang out together (like Kouki and Seijuurou did with Midorima and Takao).

The two brightened when they spotted Kouki and immediately hurried over to him. "Kou-kun, you're here!" She gushed, giving him a big hug (but being very careful with his large belly, of course).

Kouki laughed as he hugged the pinkette back. "Yup, the pup wanted some ice cream so here we are."

Today was another of the Generation of Miracles get-togethers, and usually none of the partners would come along so only the original Teiko group would catch up with one another.

But now that Kouki was in his third trimester of pregnancy, his pregnant omega hormones were going haywire once again and lately, both he and the baby constantly needed Seijuurou's presence near them at all times. Whenever Seijuurou was away, Popcorn obviously showed his displeasure about the disappearance of his other father by kicking his poor papa's ribs painfully hard and nonstop.

And Seijuurou also felt his alpha instincts kicking in overtime, making him even more protective over his mate and their unborn child. The aura and pheromones he exuded towards everyone made most of them back off from his pregnant omega.

It also didn't help that Kouki had just recovered from a cold a few days ago. It wasn't anything too serious- only a stuffed nose and a slight headache- but it made the redhead even more alert and careful over the pregnant omega (he actually disapprove of going to the ice cream parlor that day, but eventually succumbed to his husband's tearful, wide eyes).

Because of this, it was only expected that Kouki would tag along with Seijuurou to the GOM meeting. Thankfully, none of the other members minded and completely understood the situation.

"You can feel the kicks, if you want." Kouki offered, knowing exactly what the blonde was dying to ask as the beta kept sneaking glances at his stomach with twitching fingers.

Kise cheered as he placed a hand over the omega's rounded stomach. "Wow. It's so hard." He said, his voice and eyes full of awe.

Kouki giggled. "If you put your hand here, you can feel the outline of his head." He told him, gently taking the blonde's hand and moving it slightly towards the spot.

"Wow!" Kise gasped, eyes entranced as he stared at what what under his palm.

Momoi also had her hands over Kouki's belly, squealing when she too could feel the little hits and bumps coming from inside. "Ooh, he feels like a strong one, Kou-kun." She complimented, giving his stomach a few soft pats before pulling away. "Does it hurt?"

The brunette shrugged. "Sometimes- especially when he kicks me in the middle of the night. It's hard to sleep when you have someone hitting you from the inside or when you have to get up and pee just about a thousand times." He sighed, giving his own stomach a rub and softly whispering to his pup to lessen the strength of his kicks.

Seijuurou came up and helped in rubbing his stomach. "Shh...let your papa have a break, son. You can play when you come out here." Thankfully his words seemed to help since the kicking settled down once more.

"Ah, thank god. Seriously, Sei- I swear that Popcorn only behaves when you're around." Kouki sighed, leaning against his husband.

Seijuurou chuckled as he placed a kiss on his forehead. "I am glad to be of some help, love."

"But really, though. Rubbing that bump of yours is like magic you know, Furihata." Aomine pointed out, holding up his triple chocolate brownie ice cream. "I swear, rubbing that belly of yours helped me win my last game against those Titans." He grinned.

After high school, the tanned-skinned alpha was recruited by one of the top basketball teams in Japan and he immediately took up their offer. Now he was playing against major NBA teams from abroad (including Kagami's own US NBA team- the redhead was now staying abroad for his basketball career).

Kise brightened at that and immediately reached out to give the pregnant omega's belly a few more rubs. "Really? Then, Akashicchi and Furihatacchi's baby, I wish to pass my next flight stimulation exam next week please!" He prayed fervently.

Kouki chuckled as he let the blonde rub his stomach. "I'm not a Buddha, you guys."

"But Furi-chin, your belly is so big that it makes me want to feel it." Murasakibara told him, his rainbow ice cream melting down his cone and onto his hand. The purple-haired alpha had moved back to live in Tokyo once again (Akita was too cold for him) and he was attending Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo to become a pastry chef.

Midorima rolled his eyes, his own red bean ice cream cup on the table. "You are all most likely making Furihata uncomfortable with touching him like that." He scolded.

"No, it's fine." The omega assured him. "Since I began showing, I've already gotten used to people asking to touch my belly bump- as long as they ask first, then I'm fine. But sometimes, people don't even ask first which is probably the only thing that does bother me." He explained.

"But sometimes I do feel exasperated when I try to talk to someone and the only thing their eyes are on is my stomach." Kouki sighed, rubbing his belly as he spoke.

"Eh? What?" Aomine blinked, looking up from staring at the brunette's large stomach. The tanned alpha had been wondering how the omega could actually carry all of that, and to even walk around with that big ball called his stomach?

"Exactly like that." The pregnant omega raised an eyebrow at the now sheepish-looking alpha.

"I know exactly what you mean, Kou-kun! It's like when people stare at my boobs all the time. I mean, I wish they'd be a little less obvious about their staring- especially when I'm trying to talk about something serious." Momoi sighed.

Kouki nodded his head in sympathy. "Right? It's like, my eyes and face are up here. I know that seeing a pregnant male omega is rare, but I'm still a human being- not an attraction." He pouted, nuzzling into his husband's neck for a short moment to calm himself down. But he did feel better that at least someone got how he felt.

He loved his baby and was proud to show off his bump, but it would still be nice to not be stared at all the time. To be seen as something more than just 'the pregnant male omega'.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry!" Aomine held up his hands in surrender. "I won't stare so much at your stomach Furihata and I'll beat up anyone who looks at you for too long." He swore. He looked at his childhood friend and paused. "As for you...sorry, Satsuki, but I doubt I'll ever stop staring at your rack." He shrugged.

Momoi snorted while everyone else laughed at that. Honestly, no one expected any less from the breast-loving Aomine.

Aomine observed the pregnant Kouki for a moment longer before noticing something. "Hey, Furihata? Is it just me or did your chest get bigger?" He furrowed his eyebrows as he strained to look more closely.

"Dai-chan!" Momoi gasped at him but the tanned alpha only held up his hands as he shrugged again.

"I'm only asking." He said.

Kouki flushed but answered awkwardly. "The doctor says that some male omega's are able to breastfeed so...our upper chest would grow a little to accommodate the milk- but we do not become as big as a regular female's chest would."

Aomine blinked. "So you're saying that you have boobs now?"

The omega blushed a hot red. "I'm barely an A-cup, but yeah, I will be able to breastfeed my child- at least for the first year and then after that, my chest will go back to normal and the milk will stop. Male omegas can only breastfeed for a short period of time, shorter than a female's." He explained.

Aomine looked fascinated as he stared at the omega's clothed, slightly grown chest. "...Can I see?" He finally asked after a moment of silence.

It was Seijuurou who replied this time. "Absolutely not, Daiki." He ordered, giving out an intimidating aura and dangerous scent as he glared at his friend.

Aomine raised his hands up in defense, but he did look apologetic and slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see a pair of pregnant male boobs (hey, it would make any boobie-enthusiast curious to see).

Sighing, Kouki moved away from his husband and slowly got up, holding the small of his back with his hand. As the weeks passed, the omega found himself having more trouble in standing up and moving around with that large belly of his.

"I need to pee." He announced, finding his balance in his stance.

"Again?" Aomine asked incredulously at the same time Seijuurou asked, "Would you like me to come along?"

"That's what pregnancy does to you, Aomine-kun. Not only do you find yourself eating gallons of yogurt, crying over shows with little kids in it and constantly walking the fine line between bloated and constipated, but you also end up having to urinate about twenty times per day." Kouki told him wearily, letting his mate rub his aching back.

Aomine sweatdropped at that. "Thank god I can't get pregnant."

The pregnant omega couldn't help but grin at that. "I can go by myself Sei." He told the redhead.

"I'll go with you, Furihata-kun. I also need to relieve myself." Kuroko offered, leaving his vanilla sundae on the table- making sure it was far away from Murasakibara's grasp- and joining the brunette as they headed towards the restroom.

"So how is Kou-kun really doing?" Momoi questioned Seijuurou as Kise went to order the two some ice creams (including another sundae for Murasakibara and Aomine).

"Kouki has been very strong throughout the entire pregnancy." The redhead confided in all of them, his voice filled his pride for his husband. "I know that he tries to hide it, but the last few weeks have been taking a toll on his body, so I have been giving him massages to help ease some of his aches."

Momoi gave him a gentle smile as she reached up to give his arm a squeeze. "That's very sweet of you, Akashi-kun. I'm sure Kou-kun appreciates it." She assured him.

"You should make sure he eats a lot of good food, Aka-chin. The baby needs it too." Murasakibara told him as he snuck a few bites from Kuroko's sundae.

Midorima swatted the purple giant away while Seijuurou scolded him for eating someone else's food. "Foot rubs are highly recommended to help soothe pregnant people- their feet becomes swollen from the additional weight that they gain so massaging their feet helps with that." The green-haired beta informed the redhead.

Seijuurou nodded. "I will make sure to do that when we get home then. Thank you, Shintarou."

When Kise returned with all their sweets (including a peanut butter chip frozen yogurt that Seijuurou asked for his husband, seeing how his mate kept sending glances at the shop's new flavor), the blonde asked, "Ne, Akashicchi? Have you and Furihatacchi decided on a name for your pup?" He questioned excitedly.

Seeing his friends looking at him with equally curious and anticipated looks on their faces, Seijuurou merely shrugged at them. "We have a few names, but we have yet to decide on one." He replied.

"You should definitely call him Daiki, then." Aomine brought up, pointing at the redhead. "If you call your son that, he'll definitely grow up great. The name means 'impressive' after all." He told him.

Midorima rolled his eyes at that. "No child should be named after a lazy idiot like you." Before Aomine could retort, Midorima continued. "But if you are in need of a name, I suppose I wouldn't object if you were to use Shintarou for your child's name, Akashi. It means to be careful and modest."

Aomine scoffed. "Modest? You're definitely not THAT!"

"You should call him Ryouta!" Kise chimed in. "Then my nephew will grow up to be 'refreshing'!"

"And 'thick' which is what your name also means." Aomine laughed as Kise screeched loudly, trying to strangle the tanned player.

Feeling a tug on his sleeve, Seijuurou turned to see Murasakibara trying to get his attention. "I don't want to share my name so don't call your baby Atsushi, okay Aka-chin?" The purple-haired player insisted.

Seijuurou chuckled as he nodded in assurance. "We wouldn't, Atsushi. Do not worry."

"You should call the baby Satsuki, Akashi-kun!" Momoi joined in with one of her own baby name suggestions.

"They're having a boy, Satsuki." Aomine reminded her, choking a bit since Kise's hands were still around his neck.

The pinkette stuck her tongue out at him. "Satsuki can be a boy's name too, idiot Dai-chan!" She informed him.

"What is going on here?" Kouki questioned, wondering at the ruckus happening at their table. "Oh, peanut butter! And they even put some bananas on top! Aww...thank you Sei!" Kouki gave his husband a kiss before taking his seat.

"I'm glad you like it, love." Seijuurou smiled back at him, wrapping his arm around his husband's back.

"Kou-kun! What are you naming your baby?" Momoi asked, scooting closer to him.

"Name him Daiki!" Aomine called out.

"No! Ryouta is better!" Kise insisted.

"Um..." Kouki said unsurely, a spoon of his frozen yogurt hanging from his mouth.

"Stop arguing and pressuring my husband." Seijuurou narrowed his eyes at the trio. "I think it is safe to say that Kouki and I will not be naming our child after ANY of you all." He told them, making the three look offended.

"Wouldn't the name 'Katsu' be more fitting for an Akashi?" Kuroko wondered, frowning down at his sundae when he noticed that it was obviously missing a few bites.

Kouki shook his head. "Ah, that was one of the first names that Sei had suggested, but I didn't like it. I don't want to name any of our children with a name meaning 'victory'. I don't want to make them feel like they are pressured to succeed in everything in life and then feel bad if they fail at something. I want them to try their best and know that even if something doesn't go their way, then it's okay to learn from their mistakes and try again.

"I don't want winning to be the most important thing to them- because for me, what's important isn't winning, but the effort it takes to win. And also know that what matters is the people who are around them to help them get to their goal or who are there to just cheer and support them all the way. And once they do win, I don't want them to get a big head and settle for it. I want them to keep getting better and know that they have no limitations and there's always room to improve." The omega explained to them.

Everyone was quiet, the brunette's words making a huge impact on all of them for his words were aimed not only at his unborn child, but to each person there- teaching them a lesson that they had to learn the hard way themselves a few years ago.

Kuroko gave him a proud smile as he nodded in total agreement with the other's words. "You are right, Furihata-kun. Katsu is not quite a fitting name, after all."

"That's right." Kise agreed along with the others around the table. After a few seconds of quiet, the blonde then added, "So what do you think about the name Ryouta?" He looked at the brunette hopefully.

And just like that, the tension around the table broke and everyone was back to normal. "Hell no. If you're gonna name the tyke after a miracle, then it has to be me!" Aomine demanded.

"Satsuki! Satsuki!" Momoi chanted over and over.

Kuroko merely stayed quiet as he looked around their table in amusement, the same as Seijuurou.

"What about a name after food- like Umaibo-chan?" Murasakibara suggested.

Midorima rolled his eyes. "That's the most ridiculous name suggestion yet.

"So what do you think, Furihatacchi?" Kise asked, pausing in his glare match with Aomine. Kouki looked around the table with wide eyes as everyone's eyes were on him, looking at him in expectation for an answer.

"Okay. I've decided that...." He began, making everyone lean closer to hear his answer.

"...that I'm going to have a taste of Sei's green tea ice cream after all." He finished.

Mostly everyone fell over in a hysterical manner at the answer while Seijuurou looked at his omega with worried eyes. "Are you sure this is a good idea Kou-"

Before the alpha could finish his warning, the pregnant omega quickly scooped up a small spoonful of the redhead's green tea ice cream and placed it inside his mouth.

It took all but two seconds for Kouki's face to turn a pale green tinge- similar to the color of the tea ice cream- before the omega rushed off to the restroom again, moving faster than any pregnant person should be capable of.

Seijuurou, of course, sighed in exasperation before rushing after his husband and the topic of baby names decidedly were postponed until the day of the actual birth.

☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ☆彡☆ミ

At 35 weeks pregnant, Kouki was tired of well, everything.

He loved his baby to pieces, but he hated how much pregnancy made him feel so tired all the time.

It was like he was stuck in a cloudy room of tiredness at 3pm but stuck in annoying field of awakeness at 3am.

And there were times where he felt a bit short of breath- their doctor assured them that it was nothing to worry about and that it was to be expected, but the pregnant omega's lungs were starting to feel like smoosh lately.

And his back...his belly was already the size of its own planet at this point and the heavy weight was definitely taking a toll on his spine. Seriously, he cried every night from pain and gratefulness whenever his wonderful husband would give him back massages and foot rubs to soothe his aches.

To be honest, everything wasn't too bad and even if he was feeling tired or in pain, he knew that his baby would be all worth it in the end.

Even as he knew this, right now at this moment, he was so ready for this whole pregnancy to be over.

But since it would be about three more weeks until his due date, Kouki would just have to suck it up and deal with it.

And anyway, along the way the omega did manage to pick up a few cool tricks that only pregnant people were able to do.

"It's like magic, really." Kawahara pointed out, staring at his pregnant buddy in amazement.

Kouki shrugged, a grin on his face as he grabbed another onigiri from his plate and ate it all. Akira-sensei had warned him that he was a bit underweight during his last appointment so now the omega made sure to eat just a bit more food from now on.

"And it's not moving at all!" Hayama exclaimed, also staring at him with fascination.

"I can do the same with a soda can too, you know." Kouki told them, dipping a chocolate chip cookie in teriyaki sauce and eating it up.

With his ginormous pregnant belly the size of practically five watermelons, Kouki had found out that he could actually use his giant belly to his advantage.

Like as his own portable table.

Honestly, there was a spot of his rounded tummy that was perfectly flat enough to balance whatever he wanted on it and it was so useful- he didn't even need to get up and eat at the dinner table anymore.

When he was feeling especially tired and lazy, he would just sit on their couch and balance his food on top his belly and eat right there as he watched television.

It was like his baby just knew how to help make his papa feel nice and happy.

"No way! That's so awesome, man!" Kawahara gasped when Kouki indeed proved that he was able to balance his can of fruit juice on his belly without spilling it.

"What other tricks can you do?" Tae questioned curiously as she sat at his side. The female omega was taking up culinary in order for her to be prepared when it was time for her to take up her family's restaurant business.

She and Kagami were still going strong even with their long distance relationship as Kagami lived in America while Tae stayed in Japan. But the couple always texted and video chatted each other everyday and during summer and Christmas vacations, Kagami always came back to Tokyo to spend time with his girlfriend (and twice, he even got Tae to come to America where she met his father and was welcomed very warmly by his old coach/mentor, Alex).

Kouki looked thoughtful as he looked towards the basketball courts and sent a smile to his husband, who was currently in the middle of playing a basketball game against the other miracles.

Today was Kouki's baby shower.

At first, Kouki didn't want to go out of the house at all.

When he hit his ninth month of pregnancy, he suddenly found himself feeling extremely exhausted to do much of anything and even his doctor recommended that he go on a resting period now.

Thankfully from his eighth month of pregnancy, Kouki had already switched to dealing with his final year of college from home- only going to school to take his last few exams and present his final thesis. And hopefully, if there were no problems then the baby will already be there in time for his college graduation.

But the brunette finally relented to attending the baby shower when he saw just how much work his friends did to put together and throw him this party. If not for himself, then at least he could party for a few hours for his husband, friends, family and to celebrate their son.

Mibuchi was of course in charge of the party setup and the theme he had chosen was just something relaxing and not too extravagant or wild.

It was a simple party in the couple's private garden, with plenty of food and comfy sofas for the heavily pregnant man to rest on. And there would be none of those cheesy baby shower games here- instead, they would all of course play everyone's most beloved game, basketball.

Due to his current condition, Kouki was unable to join in the games but he still had fun watching all the matches and rooting for them at the sidelines (it made him feel nostalgic, reminding him of when he would cheer for his teammates from the sidelines during his first year of high school).

And the omega was never alone during the party- he was always surrounded by his close friends and his husband when the redhead wasn't playing a match.

All the miracles were there, including their partners- except Murasakibara's partner. Himuro had chosen to study in America, like Kagami, for a degree in business and accounting. But he promised his boyfriend that they would live together (whether it be in Japan or America) after they graduated, where they would then open their own pastry shop and cafe together- hence Himuro's choice of course because someone needed to managed their finances and payments.

Fukuda was in the middle of his exams in Miyagi so he also was unable to attend, but Kawahara was there, as well as the uncrowned kings, his older brother and Tae (like Murasakibara, she too was in a long distance relationship with Kagami in the US. The couple had yet to decide where they would choose to stay after graduation. Whether it be in America or Japan, all they decided on was that they would also stay together after Tae graduated from culinary school).

Kouki watched as the two teams played against each other.

First team consisted of Kuroko, Ogiwara, Murasakibara, Mibuchi, Nebuya, and his own husband.

The second team had Midorima, Takao, Kise, Kasamatsu (the beta was working as a music teacher in a high school and was also a part-time musician), Aomine and Sakurai (he was studying to be a veterinarian and was actually still not going out with Aomine yet. But it was only a matter of time and there were already bets placed on the pair for when they would finally get together- Kouki himself had bet on six months after graduation).

With Momoi and Kouta as referees (well, mostly Momoi was refereeing because Kouta knew close to nothing about basketball), Kouki stayed at the sidelines with Tae, Kawahara and Hayama as his companions. The latter two would be substituted into the game later on and were just taking a break now.

"Furi?" Kouki looked away from the game to focus back on his friends.

"Oh! Well, I can also use my stomach as a book rest. When I'm lying down and don't want to hold up my book, I can just balance the book on my stomach and everything's fine." The brunette told them.

"That's awesome." His guy friends grinned.

"Are you excited or nervous about seeing your baby soon?" Tae asked him, smiling widely.

Kouki sighed, rubbing his belly and smiling a little at his little popcorn moving underneath his palm. The kicks wasn't quite as energetic during the last month, but this just meant that his baby boy was preparing to come soon.

"A little of both, to be honest." He finally confessed. "I mean, I can't wait to see our pup and I definitely can't wait till this pregnancy is over.

"But....there are things that I'm gonna miss. Like having my baby right here inside me, where I can protect him from any harm from the outside world. And I'm still terrified of actually giving birth." He chuckled.

Tae moved to cover his hand with her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright, Furihata-kun." She told them.

Kawahara and Hayama nodded. "Of course. And remember, you and captain are not alone in this. We're all here to help you guys out. Trust me, as I am the president of the Omega protection squad after all." Hayama added with a wink.

Kouki smiled, tearing up a little, as he felt a little better knowing that he won't be doing all of this alone.

"Aww...don't cry Furi!" Kawahara laughed as he handed his pregnant friend a tissue. "You already cried buckets earlier during the gift-giving portion."

And Kouki had shed plenty of tears then- but could you really blame him?

Those teeny little musical note booties that Kise and Kasamatsu gave him were so adorable made him tear up.

And the onesie that Aomine gifted them with a picture of a basketball on the front with the words, 'It's in my DNA', written on it just made him cry right there and then.

And the pile of [sushi plush pillows](https://i2.wp.com/ladygeekboutique.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/810zUBbGC2L._SL1500_.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000) that his old teammates and good friends from Seirin had sent him. For one reason or another, the Seirin guys- minus Kuroko and Kawahara- were unable to attend due to school or prior engagements. But they make him promise that he informed them when the baby arrived so they could visit their nephew and newest Seirin teammate. Their kind gesture moved him to even more tears.

And don't get him started with the hand-knitted elephant doll that Riko (who was also unable to attend his shower due to Seirin having their basketball match that day and needing to be there as their coach) had given to Kuroko to hand to him. He sobbed uncontrollably for quite some time as he hugged the tiny, slightly odd-shaped but it was the thought that counted, blue elephant to his chest.

Just as he opened his mouth to comment, Kouki suddenly felt a small cramp hit him in his abdomen. It wasn't very painful but it was uncomfortable as it tightened up, making Kouki gasp aloud and hold his lower belly where the cramp was radiating from.

"Furi?!" His friends cried out in shock.

Kouki closed his eyes as he took in deep breaths, trying to ride out the cramp. In the background, he could hear the worried and panicking voices of his friends. "It's only a contraction." The pregnant omega managed to force out through clenched teeth.

But his words didn't work much to calm his companions. In fact, it seemed to make them panic even more. "Contraction?! Oh my god, Furi is going into labor!" One of them, the brunette wasn't entirely sure, shouted to the others.

Kouki opened his eyes but faced down, choosing to focus solely on his breathing exercises.

"Okay, baby. Calm down for papa now..." Kouki said softly to his child, cradling where he felt was his son's head was at as the pup kicked him relentlessly.

The noises around him seemed to get even louder and then a familiar presence was right beside him, bringing him into their warm embrace.

"Is it braxton hicks, love?" Seijuurou asked him gently, rubbing the spot where he held his stomach to help soothe the aching.

Kouki sighed as he nodded, letting his husband rub his belly to calm their son's harsh kicking in response to the false contraction. Popcorn hated the contractions as much as Kouki did.

He released a long sigh when the uncomfortable cramp finally passed. Even though it didn't really hurt, feeling his stomach tighten up like that was still not fun.

The brunette's eyes widened when he noticed that he was surrounded by pretty much everyone at the party. Every single person had a worried/panicked expression on their faces.

"Do you need to be taken to the hospital, Kou-chan?" Mibuchi asked him gently, sitting by his other side as the beta also tried to calm Kouta down (the older Furihata had almost passed out at the thought of his baby brother going into labor just now).

Kouki shook his head and gave them all an embarrassed smile. "It's alright everyone- it's only a Braxton hick contraction. Sorry for the false alarm." He told them sheepishly.

There was a collected sigh of relief amongst the group as the tension in the air slowly dissipated.

"Oh, thank god." Aomine shook his head.

"I'm sorry about worrying about the baby although it was only a braxon hicks contraction. I'm sorry!" Sakurai apologized, bowing his head.

Aomine sweatdropped at the mushroom player. "Why are you sorry about something that isn't your fault?"

Sakurai blushed at the tanned players flabbergasted gaze before shaking his head and bowing again. "I'm just sorry about everything, Aomine-kun." He didn't hear Aomine sighing at his reply.

"I too was worried that the baby would be coming early." Kuroko also pointed out, his face actually showing the relief and ease they all now felt.

"I was seriously worried that we would have a birth on our hands, here and now." Hayama exhaled. "I mean, how would we even handle delivering a baby in the first place?"

"Speak for yourselves- if it were to happen, I volunteer to deliver baby Akashi!" Takao told them cheerfully.

"On all that is Oha Asa, please NO." Midorima shuddered at the thought of his boyfriend being in charge of the birth.

"Man, that was scary." Nebuya admitted.

"If that was a fake contraction, how would the REAL thing be like?" Ogiwara questioned.

Most people paled at the thought.

As their friends and family were still pulling themselves together, Kouki felt himself relax against his mate, yawning a little since his husband's belly rubs were feeling very good- so good that he was now feeling sleepy.

Everyone soon left the couple to themselves as they headed back to the court to start another game.

As Kouki sleepily watched Kise make a dunk pass Aomine, he whispered in a soft voice, "Sei?"

"Hm?" Seijuurou hummed, his hand no longer moving, but still laying ontop his spouse's rounded belly, as if protecting their child inside.

The pregnant omega gave a small yawn before saying, "I really can't wait to see Popcorn and hold him in my arms finally." He mumbled drowsily.

Seijuurou laughed quietly as he nodded, placing a kiss on his sleepy mate's cheek. "Neither can I, Kouki. Now why don't you take a nap? Popcorn and I shall be right here when you wake up." He told him, placing another soft kiss on his mate's lips.

The pregnant omega gave a sleepy smile as he snuggled into his husband's comforting hold. "Okay..." He sighed lightly.

And with the final image of his husband smiling above him as he held him and their unborn son in his embrace, Kouki slowly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
